


Living with a Lich

by AllocateAloe



Series: Thrown Amidst Monsters [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Gaster can be highly aggressive, Heavy Plot, Hurt/Comfort, Lich Gaster, Minor Character Death, Monster Heat, Rough Sex, Sans vs Gaster jealousy, Sequel to Thrown Amidst Monsters, Sexual Tension, Smut, Smut will be labeled (R) in chapter title, Soul Sharing, Swearing, Tags will update as we go (just like last time!), Violence, characters plotting harm, dark themes, long smut scenes, non-con elements in chapter 16, sacreligious elements in ch 21, so much sass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:17:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 285,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6278656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllocateAloe/pseuds/AllocateAloe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Direct sequel to Thrown Amidst Monsters.)<br/>A month has passed since you ended the political prejudice against monsters in the city.<br/>Though past events have consequences. Rumors are spreading like wildfire about you and the scientist, WD Gaster, and they are beginning to get out of control. Conspiracy theories and prying articles are the new trend online as you become the poster child of scandalous acts.<br/>Your friends are wary of the Lich, wary of the effects he has on you. As things heat up and he shows his true colors will they accept him as he is? Or will it all come crashing down as you discover what it's like Living with a Lich.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unwanted Attention

**Author's Note:**

> All right! Here we go~!  
> Just a few words before you all dive in reaal quick:  
> Sans is gon' be hurting in this fic and he's going to be pushy as he was in Thrown Amidst Monsters. It's important to remember all these characters have flaws and I'm going to be jabbing at them rather hard. I know that was a surprise to a lot of you guys during TAM but that's going to continue here as well. (Also things like fight scenes/graphic violence/ect will be in this fic too. You guys wouldn't expect any less of me. <3)
> 
> SO!  
> Thank you guys, all of you, for your support.. your messages, your artwork even (Oh my lordy lord I'm really touched by this <3) and your patience as I got this new plot set up. I'm amazed at how many of you enjoy my version of Gaster and I'm thrilled to share more of him with you all.  
> Settle in, grab some popcorn, go get your favorite drink and let's begin this journey together.
> 
> Here's to the first bomb of Living with a Lich! Cheers~

The rising sun cast it's gentle rays of light through the windows of your bedroom, filtering solid black lines across the bedspread while golden hues promised a fresh morning. You just so happened to be tangled in the sheets with a large, warm monster laying on his back with his head tilted away from you, his chest gradually rising and falling. Tucked into his arm, a leg wrapped around his with your hand extended across his tattered, scarred chest you merely huffed at the light invading your room and nuzzled your face further into the form beside you. The sheets were tangled across your midsection and through his legs, the lich beside you radiated heat and made it unnecessary to use the blankets. Your soft skin soaked in his body temperature well, regardless of how odd and uneven the texture was.

It wasn't often that you two spent the night together. A month had passed since the monster rights bill was enacted but there was still much to do. The monsters that had been corralled and detained in the camps did not escape scot free. Many had fallen. The king of all monsters, Asgore, made it imperative that the research team made a collective effort to try to heal these beings but it was a hard go. Alphys was a nervous wreck and relied heavily on Gaster's experience in soul science. He wouldn't go into detail with what was happening but he did mention the remnants of Robert's soul were being used to help stabilize the fallen monsters for now. In death that hateful man could still be of use to save the lives of others and not just the young prince, Asriel, whom was still adjusting to being a child once again.

However, Robert's disappearance did not go unnoticed. There were many theories online and in the news about the missing person but mostly the stories remained local, there wasn't a lot of evidence and only speculation was the main talking point. Not either the scientist or yourself cared to indulge in the gossip or pay any mind to it. You were mostly irritated at the public sexual rumors about the doctor and yourself merely because of your relationship as a translator on the television. Some reporters had the guts to ask about Gaster while in press conferences but Asgore would merely change the subject. There were rumors about your neck mark but most of them remained just idle gossip as the pictures circulating were from the assembly, the marks barely noticeable above the scarf you had worn. The ones that tried to analyze and correlate the marks as an actual bite from the scientist himself were viewed as a conspiracy theory. Luckily.

As for your job..? You couldn't find one. Instead Toriel hired you on to help with the kids whenever the royal gang had places to be and people to meet while they worked the political round table. You weren't fond of children but Frisk and Asriel were not just children in your eyes, they were your friends. There was to be another convention to where the royal gang had to attend and you'd be watching them for a few days by yourself, it wasn't that hard and you enjoyed the time you all played and made meals together. Rarely would Gaster be around during these times as he was already so entrenched in his work but the times he would he'd sit on the couch with some scotch as the kids bickered, played and annoyed each other. It just reminded you of the times you spent in the lab. The four of you got along swimmingly, the others.. not so much.

There would still be conversations brought up about the marks on your skin, the draining abilities the scientist's magic had on your overflowing soul but each time you'd assure them all you were fine. And honestly? You were. The time spent apart from the Lich was often. Yet the slight effect of his magic on your soul was good enough an interaction to feel comfortable. Over the past few weeks you had grown accustomed to the feeling of some presence with you throughout the day. You would get looks whenever you ventured outside whether it be on the street or in the park with Asriel and Frisk but you didn't pay them any mind even though it seems as if monsters were more inclined to stare and murmur.

You'd let them speculate. While the scientist wasn't very talkative there was that passionate side to him that sparked something deep within you, he was always exciting and his dominate aura helped you relax. You weren't sure what to call your relationship with the monster but you didn't feel the need to label it. The longer the mark was upon your skin and soul, the more you became familiar with one another. It seemed whenever you experienced an exceptionally blissful day he would be more relaxed when you had the chance to see him. Although, he kept his visits to night time entanglements. It didn't seem he cared much for the others as whenever Sans knew he was around the skeleton would push his buttons and the scientist would return the favor. They were both too proud to concede or allow any type of one-upsmanship. It was draining and difficult to get them to knock it off as they always did it behind your back in quick strikes that would leave one or the other annoyed.. if not both.

Besides that though your relationship with Sans was on the mend. You both didn't go into too much detail with what had happened between you, it was awkward and straining. Instead you both began to trust one another again, it took Sans quite awhile to stop glancing at your neck but once he did you began to text idly back and forth as you used to though not nearly in the same amount. While you worked on your relationship with the skeleton your friend, Jenny, found herself being integrated into the group as well. She was often included to gatherings, events and even had hung out with you as you took care of the little ambassador and their new brother. She would even come over in the mornings and spend a bit of time with you before she went to work. Unfortunately you had spaced the fact that you even had a phone last night as the scientist came over earlier than usual, the world faded away when he was around.

 

The morning light continued to try prodding at your eyelids, pulling a light grunt from your throat as your subconscious mind tried to block out the invading stimulation by hiding into the thick flesh of the scientist beside you. The gentle movements of your nuzzling were accompanied by a slight huffing of the monster though you both settled back down into the sheets quietly, just as you were fading back into a deep sleep there was a hard rapping at the front door. You tried to ignore it but it persisted, the noise pulled a deep inhale from the chest you rested against as the scientist stirred and you groaned in protest.

“nngh..” you yawned, clutching to the monster as he breathed in deeply and rolled his head over to glance at you with his eyes squinting at the morning light. The monster grunted, the light suddenly being shut back out as he summoned a hand to slide up the blinds and block out the uninvited sun. The knocking started up again and you winced, muttering curses under your breath as the scientist snorted.

“Sleep, my dear..” he purred, flexing his arm around you to keep you against his side as he raised his free hand into the air to make a quick sign that send a magical pulse through the front door in an irritated shock wave. He expected to sense a monster soul but it was a human's, either way they had backed off from the door. With a gentle sigh your body relaxed once more, your soul was vibrating with energy but your body was still rather sore from the lustful night you spend with the Lich. Your mind craved the caress of sleep but the knocking began yet again, a tad more forceful.

A light growl reverberated in the monsters chest as you stirred and flicked open your eyes, slowly taking in your surroundings as you lifted yourself up onto your elbow and yawned. Pushing the hair back from your face you glanced around the room, feeling the scientist's hand at your back as he watched you lazily. Chip slowly blinked his eyes at you from the other end of the bed, nestled into the crumbled up edge of the sheet.

“Mmnn.. who the fuck could that be this early..?” you drawled, rubbing at your face half conscious and sighing as the rapping started again impatiently.

The monster didn't respond but you could feel the marks upon your skin itching from his irritation, sighing with the effort you managed to untangle your legs from his own and slipped off of the side of the bed. You stood with your back to the monster, stretching your arms above your head as you arched your back while subtly rolling your hips to the side to twist your spine and were rewarded with a few satisfying pops. You rolled your eyes and huffed as the rapping started again, your own irritation mixing with his at the obnoxious sound.

The scientist also pulled himself up on the bed and stood, Chip chittering lightly from the rustle of the mattress. As you trudged across the bedroom you snatched up the closest thing to cover yourself which so happened to be Gaster's large black lab coat, you waltzed through the open bedroom door as you draped the heavy fabric over your shoulders and slid your arms into it. As you passed into the hall the soft scent of coffee surrounded you as you tugged the front of the large coat across your naked chest. Marching to the door you quickly reached out for the locks and snapped them out of place before twisting the knob and flung the door open to come face to face with a startled Jenny.

“Jen.. _whyy_..” you groaned, letting go of the door and rubbed at your face.

She stared at you, her mouth agape while a blush crept onto her cheeks, “I know I'm a bit early-” you drew in a deep breath as you kicked yourself mentally, you totally spaced that you had plans with your friend to come over this morning, “-but I have something pretty important to show you..”

You let the hand drop from your face as you heard the scientist meander into the kitchen, the smell of coffee stimulated your mind but you were still half asleep at this point so it was taking a moment for your brain to process what your friend was saying. Jenny glanced up and down your figure as the cogs in your brain struggled, her flush deepening. The doctors lab coat nearly brushed the floor on your tiny body, you were like a child wearing an over sized sweater.

“Gonna let me in yet, slut?” she teased, you yawned as you rolled your eyes but ended the exhale with a light laugh as you stepped back and led her into the flat. She closed the door behind her as she followed you around the counter but her eyes were caught onto the bare back of the scientist who was just in his black slacks. You looked back just as you saw her take him in, his pale flesh was truly ravaged with the black scars all varying in degrees and thicknesses, you couldn't blame her for being caught off guard. The ridges of his spine poked through his skin oddly along with his hip bones and ribs while he was still rather built it was just an overall odd, disturbing shape.

With a jerky movement that startled her he turned around to stride forward with two cups in his hands, his white eyes glaring down the girl as he held out a mug for you. Graciously you took it and held it between both of your hands, nodding to him thankfully but as you turned to look at Jenny she was fixated on the large black scar slashed across his chest from the base of his neck to his abdomen.

You spoke to pull her attention away from the looming monster, “So, you said something about-?” you scrunched your eyebrows, nearly losing your train of thought before you added, “important..?” Nice. Very smooth.

She nodded, smiling as she locked eyes with you while the scientist let out a heavy breath and stepped away from the both of you back into the bedroom. Jenny giggled as she spoke, “Yeeah but maybe you should wake up a little first, girlie. I'll make you some breakfast.”

You smiled, taking a soft sip from the scalding coffee to try to stimulate your lagging mind as she stepped around the island counter gingerly and started to rummage through the fridge. You could hear Chip meweling in your bedroom at the scientist as you leaned into the counter and gently spoke up, “I'm really gonna need my brain for this news..?”

She continued to rummage but ended up grabbing a carton of eggs and some vegetables before setting them on the counter, speaking over her shoulder as she went, “Well there's a new article talking about your.. well,” she closed the fridge door with her hip, glancing at you as you took another sip, “Tattoo.”

Blinking you scrunched up your eyebrows, murmuring over the top of the ceramic, “What about it this time..?”

“Well, I don't think it's _that_ big of a deal but I thought I should still let you know about it, I think I told you about some gossip articles that were trying to say it was like a hipster shark bite tattoo.. right?”

You chewed at the inside of your cheek while rolling your eyes and nodded, that's exactly what you had thought at first too. Jenny went on, “T-though everyone at the firm thinks it's just some kind of fancy pattern or something as you can only see a few pin pricks in the pictures.”

“Ookay..?” you sighed, noticing how she was trying to soften some kind of news she found difficult to just spit out.

“Well..” she began as she started to cut up the vegetables, you heard Chip jump off of the bed and trot down the hall into the living room while flicking his tail wildly. The scientist shortly stepped out of the room in his gray turtleneck and came up behind you, shadowing you as he listened and drank from his own mug.

“Jen.. just spit it out,” you chuckled, watching her back as she huffed and set down the utensils before turning to you and dug into her pocket for her phone. She took a few steps forward and unlocked the device, scrolling through it a bit before tucking the corner of her lips into her cheek.

“Well there's a new article online that has a lot of traction since last night and it's.. well..”

You lowered the mug, a nervousness helped to clear the fog of your groggy mind but it wasn't necessarily a good thing, “Jen, you're going to kill me if you keep dragging your feet about it.”

“Just...” she heaved and set the phone onto the counter, spinning it around to face you and pushed it across the counter before she skipped back to beside the stove to continue her work. Both you and the scientist looked down, your skin going cold as your heart thudded in your chest. You snatched the phone up and stared at the picture on the screen.

“Whhaaat the fuck, dude..” The image shown was from a few days ago with you at the park, you were playing around with Frisk and Asriel with your head turned away from the camera but it clearly showed off the side of your neck as you were just in a tank top that day. The bite marks were harsh against your skin as you tentatively scrolled up to read the title of the article.

_'Tattoo or magical seal? The royal family translator's secret.'_

You were in shock, the scientist carefully reached his arm around you and took the device from your fingers before lifting it up for himself to see. His chin raised ever so slightly while his eye socket drooped as he inquisitively began to scroll down and read through the text. Jenny broke the silence by clearing her throat and spoke up.

“I guess you've got paparazzi girlfriend.”

“This is not okay.. This is a joke right?” you said, setting the mug down onto the counter as a rock settled in the pit of your stomach. The Lich behind you merely hummed quietly, the reverberations quivering the air at your back as he read.

“I'm not going to lie and say that it's not creepy.. But the publisher isn't very credible so I wouldn't worry  _too_ much.”

“Jen, they have weird pictures of me from just this last Tuesday what the _helll_ ,” you whined, placing a hand on your face as your gaze fell to the counter.

“Was anybody being really suspicious when you were out with the rugrats?” she asked, finishing up her knife skills.

“Not that I remember.. Just an average day. Wait didn't you say this was going around-? I think I should be worrying Jen-”

“Chiillll dude,” she breathed, looking at you from over her shoulder as she opened the carton of eggs, “It's just another tabloid.. you've already seen a few gossip articles about you.”

“Yeah all with old pictures from when I was G's translator, this is a new level of creepiness..” you rubbed your hand against your face deeply.

The scientist softly spoke as he continued to read, unnerving Jenny as she went for a pan to put it on the stove, “Hmn, a human wrote this.”

“Are you sure, G?” you murmured, looking over your shoulder up at him as he gently nodded and scrolled through the text while a slight smirk tugged at his mouth.

“According to this I am a Ghoul.”

“What?” you tried to contain a dry laugh but it escaped anyhow.

“Seems as if they grabbed onto your 'undead' monster type hint and since the mark matches my jaws it would make me a Ghoul. Those monsters feast upon flesh and are considered demonic.”

You felt dizzy. A few of the articles you had read tried pointing this out but the pictures of the marks were very subtle and it was hard to exactly tell what they were, most of the comments just waved it off as a pattern style tattoo and you hid it to be professional. But if that article was gaining internet attention and had such a vivid image of the mark.. you didn't know what you were going to do.

“What's he saying..?” Jenny asked gently, blinking as she looked over while you glanced up and met her eyes with strain written across your features.

“He thinks it's funny the article is trying to pin him as a Ghoul.”

“Is that.. bad?” she asked hesitantly before turning back to crack open the eggs and mix them together in a bowl, you hadn't even noticed that she grabbed it from the cabinet.

The doctor silently leaned down from above you, his arm hooking back around you to show you the screen as his clawed thumb lightly swiped towards the bottom of the article. Quickly you read the line at the top of the paragraph and soon couldn't help but to let a sigh of relief and smirk, Jenny heard you and projected her voice as she worked.

“What is it..?”

“They are trying to prove he is a Ghoul because he has holes in his hands-,” you rolled your eyes as the scientist gently sat the phone back onto the counter top while a laugh crept into your throat, “they are trying to relate him to the damn anti-christ and thusly a demon because he is a monster with hands that symbolize Jesus on the cross.”

“I tried to tell you to not get too worked up, I just thought you should know,” she smiled, the scientist lightly gripping onto your bicep as you let out another breath to calm yourself down. A light chuckle rolled through his chest as he murmured.

“My dear, it is good they underestimate me.”

You glance up to him with a smirk, “What, Ghoul's aren't that scary to monsters?”

He shook his head and continued, “Ghouls went extinct,” he let his hand drop from your arm as your eyes widened and looked back towards the counter, gently leaning over the granite as you took your pointer finger and gently skimmed through the article.

After a few moments of silence Jenny spoke as she dumped the eggs into the pan with a satisfying sizzle, “Er.. what did he say?”

“That Ghouls don't exist anymore, they all died out.”

“Oh.. How?”

The scientist took a drink of coffee as you murmured, “Probably in the war.”

“Ah,” she replied, falling silent as the memories of the scientist's scars were fresh in her mind.

“Indeed, my dear,” he mused, “I would not be concerned with such trivial gossip.”

You nodded, only reading bits and pieces of the article as you scrolled through the lengthy text. It unnerved you that people were dog piling on the theory the scientist had bitten you, it would be disaster if it had come out that you were marked especially by a Lich. Magic was allowed, but this type of magic was forbidden in monster culture.. humans were not going to like the idea of a Lich, a being that can control hordes of the undead, was living in the city. Nervously you chewed at the inside of your cheek.. Liches were supposed to not exist either. You hoped it was enough to leave these ideas online as simple entertaining theories with no real support or believability. Though it was hard to shake as you skimmed the theories about the bite being magic though it's purpose was far from what it actually was. The article was trying to say that the bite simply burned your skin and left traces of magic behind to warn away other ghouls that you belonged to the scientist to which he would eventually eat you.

“Eugh.. That's enough of that,” you muttered, closing out of the article and pushed the device across the counter while Jenny plated your food and went on to make a second omelet for herself.

“I just thought you should hear it from a friend instead of a stranger,” the girl said softly.

You nodded and sighed, “Yeah.. Thanks Jenny, I'll be more careful in public and see if I can find that sicko that took my picture. I'll punch him into next week,”you snorted, an amused smirk tugging at the scientist's mouth as he hovered just above you and careened his face down to the side of your neck. He paused as he took in your scent which was absolutely covered in his own.

“What?” you whispered, glancing at him over your shoulder before affectionately tapping the side of your face to his jaw. A light rumble spread through his chest as he muttered darkly.

“Just let me know, my dear. We could use another soul in the vats.”

You couldn't help but to shiver, he just chuckled and dipped his brow into your temple. His oddly affectionate way of saying goodbye to you. Nodding lightly your skull rubbed against his as you smile and murmured, “All right, see you later G.”

Jenny turned back around just as he straightened up and took a few steps into the living room before vanishing mid-stride. Your eyes lingered on where he had disappeared, noticing Chip lounging on the couch and swaying his tail lazily. The sound of ceramic being set down on the counter drew your attention back to Jenny as she smiled and pushed the plate towards you, a fork already placed next to your meal and you gingerly took it to begin eating. Your friend ate along with you quietly as the sun rose higher into the morning sky.

After a few minutes she began to giggle, you looked up quizically as she fanned her chest and swallowed, “You look like you want to sell me some boot leg merch, girl.”

Blinking wildly you glanced at yourself, remembering you're in the scientist's lab coat and began to laugh with your friend.

You two cleaned up and you walked Jenny to the door, waving as she went down the hall and to work. Glancing at Toriel's flat you could begin to smell some type of butter pastry, you hoped it was more croissants. Ducking back into the flat you went to shower, you only had a bit of time before you were supposed to be over there to help out. When it was just Toriel and Frisk the flat had been much easier to take care of but now with Asriel thrown into the mix he was rather mischievous, a lasting side effect of being Flowey for so long. He never caused you much trouble but he still loved to try to stir up problems for Sans. It was only a month ago when you got a selfie from Frisk posing with a broken lamp, Sans insisted that nobody touched it but you had a feeling they were just rough housing again.

After showering, putting away the borrowed lab coat, getting dressed and straightening up the bedroom you waltzed on over to the neighbors door. Lightly knocking before you turned the knob and let yourself in you were met with the smell of chocolate and buttery pastries, your hopes were surpassed. She made chocolate filled croissants. Asriel and Frisk perked up on the couch and waved to you as you waved back and peered into the kitchen to find Sans and Toriel quietly talking to each other while the woman's phone was face up in her palm. You cleared your throat, grabbing their attention as you spoke, “What's up?”

The skeleton flicked his gaze to you, his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets while Toriel smiled at you and set her phone face down on the counter, “Good morning, my child. Are you sure this isn't too much trouble to watch them for a few days..? I can always send Sans back-”

You laughed, shaking your head and waved your hand, “It's no biggie. They're great with me.”

Sans lightly chuckled as you stepped further into the kitchen, his white eyes on yours, “that makes one of us.”

“You guys just always end up _kidding_ around,” you playfully scolded, Toriel lightly giggling behind her clawed hand as you went on with the skeleton's grin spreading, “the trick is to bore them to death-” you glanced over to the living room as you projected your voice, “destroy their will with historical documentaries-!”

Both of the kids groaned and fell back against the cushions in exasperation as Asriel threw his voice back at you, “Please not again!”

The three of you laughed in the kitchen but the children didn't find it funny. Sans' smooth voice broke up through your giddiness, “if you need anything-” he plucked his hand from his jacket pocket, flashing his phone at you with a wink, “just call on the tele-bone.”

Yourself and Toriel lost it, your hard laughter earning a groan from the kids who were trying to watch morning cartoons. The goat woman quieted herself down as she spoke, “Oh, before we go I have to make sure I have the proper papers,” Sans nodded and shadowed her as they left the kitchen and down the hall. You could hear Sans' voice mumbling and Toriel's soft giggling as they went into the back room.

Idly you looked around for where the croissants were but your eyes fell onto Toriel's phone on the counter. Biting the inside of your cheek you glanced to the kids who were glued onto the TV and carefully stepped to the counter, leaning your hip into it. You could hear Toriel's voice from the back of the flat as you slid a hand up onto the counter beside the phone, trying to be casual as you quickly flipped the device and hit the lock button. Toriel didn't have any sort of lock screen so the last thing she was looking at popped up brightly on the screen, your heart sunk as you were met with the article from this morning.

“remember when you asked if all _monsters_ were sneaky?” Sans chuckled as you jumped and quickly set the phone back down as you looked up at him.

“I was just checking the time,” you smiled sheepishly but Sans' eyelids drooped a tad farther, you couldn't ever lie to this skeleton as he saw right through you each time.

You sighed lightly as Toriel stepped down from the hall humming gently. You really didn't want to have another lecture about your marks but luckily Sans didn't want to go over it for the twelfth time either as he glanced behind him. The woman nodded but stepped through the living room to say goodbye to Asriel and Frisk with quick kisses to their foreheads to which Asriel struggled at and Frisk simply returned the affectionate gesture.

You and Sans met gazes, an awkward tension in the air as if he wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut as he gently swiped the queens cell phone from the counter and pocketed it along with his own. At least he wasn't staring at your neck anymore. Toriel came back up to the both of you all smiles as she spoke, “All right it should only be a couple of days, I wouldn't go normally but this is very important as it's about the fallen monsters under Doctor Gaster and Doctor Alphys' care.”

You nodded, murmuring gently at the sensitive topic, “Any more news about that..?”

She sighed and shook her head, Sans looking over to the woman as she spoke, “They're stabilized. The issue is that none of them are waking up.. The science community is watching and wanting answers on monster physiology and while Doctor Gaster wants to be.. blunt.. Doctor Alphys is against that as she is fearful of the repercussions from the public knowing that a fragmented human soul is part of the treatment process.”

Sans raised a brow as he glanced to you, “you didn't know this..?”

A sheepish smile returned to your lips as you shook your head, “Gaster isn't really a talkative person and I haven't seen Alphys in awhile either.”

A twinge tugged at the corner of the skeleton's mouth before turning back to Toriel who held out her hand and placed it on his shoulder as she looked back to you, “It will be all right my child. For now it's best to be discrete.. I trust in the research teams experience.”

You nodded, your smile turning genuine as you knew she was talking about Asriel. If not for Gaster.. the child would have never been saved, or possibly be even alive right now.

“Okay guys, I'll talk to you later. I think we will just stay in today,” you noticed how both of them relaxed at that statement and nodded before Sans vanished with the woman in tow.

You let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding and perked up as you glanced around, Toriel did a pretty good job keeping things orderly but you still had much to do. You snagged a fresh pastry and got down to business.

 

After a few hours of cleaning, laundry, dishes, dusting ecetera you finally found yourself plopping onto the couch with the two kids working on their homework at the coffee table. Their half eaten lunches on plates beside them. It was usually harder to get Asriel to focus in but today he was doing pretty well, you glanced over the spread of papers littering the wooden table and blinked at the amount of work they had.

“Is this for the whole week..?”

Frisk shook their head as they colored in a map of some sort while Asriel was working on a math time table sheet, the goat huffed, “This is just from Tuesday.”

“ _Two days?_ ” your eyes widened as they both nodded, “Wow, I guess they're preparing you for college early,” you chuckled as you crossed your legs and settled back into the cushions. 

Frisk set down their crayon and looked up to you, beginning to sign,  _'Can we do something fun after this?'_

“Sure kiddo, what did you have in mind?” you smiled as Asriel looked up from his scribbled answers and grinned.

“Let's go play frisbee!”

Your smile faltered, “I think we should just stay inside today you guys..”

“Really? Because someone put a picture of you on the internet?”

You blinked rapidly at the goat as he shifted and sat back on the floor, wiggling his pencil in the air as he watched you and waited for a response.

Sighing you nodded, “It's not just bad for me you guys, I don't want weirdos taking pictures of you two either..”

Frisk's signing caught your attention,  _'Just have void uncle beat them up.'_

“Void uncle..?” you chuckle as Frisk nodded with a smile across their face before you sighed, “How about we just go to the store and you guys can help me pick out what you want for dinner tonight, we can cook and hang out while you guys get caught up on your show.”

The two kids brightened up as Asriel spoke, “Seriously? We can just watch TV  _all day?_ ”

“Well.. not  _all_ day. Just don't tell your mom.”

They nodded exuberantly and went back to their homework with a fierceness you've yet to see from the two. You checked your phone for the time, it was probably a good idea to fold up some laundry and get those chores out of the way before you had to leave for the store. That way you'd have the rest of the night to just relax with everyone. With a soft huff you pulled yourself up from the couch and went back to work. Folding and putting away the clothing went easily enough and as you stepped back into the family room both kids were putting their finished work into their backpacks and zipped them up.

“Ready to go stretch your legs chillin's?”

They snorted, rolling their eyes but eagerly stood and dropped their bags by the door before walking out of the apartment with you close behind. You were sure to lock Toriel's flat as you three made your way down the staircase and onto the street.

 

The walk to the store was nice, it was a beautiful day for playing frisbee and you started to feel bad for the kids but as you got closer to the more crowded areas you started to feel eyes on you. It made your skin crawl as you would turn and catch someone quickly glancing away, the attention was from both humans and monsters alike though luckily no one had their phone out or tried to take pictures of you. As you entered the store the kids lead you through as you picked out some healthy snacks and all the supplies for stir fry as Frisk was adamant Asriel finally taste it. With your goods at the check out counter the young woman working the register lingered her eyes over you while you fiddled with your wallet and pulled out your card while Asriel and Frisk gently talked back and forth about school.

You smiled as you paid but as the woman bagged your food she cleared her throat and drew your attention as you stuffed your wallet back into your jeans.

“A-are you.. that girl from the monster rights assembly?”

Blinking wildly you nodded and tried to keep a smile on your face as if it were no big deal but as she set your bagged items on the counter she leaned over to you and murmured, “Is it true that.. that monster bit you?”

Your smile faltered, a tad taken aback as you reached for the plastic. Asriel and Frisk went silent as they looked up and found others in the line staring at you. Lifting the bags from the counter you shifted them into one hand and began to laugh, flipping your hair away from your neck to show the marks and shook your head, “No, no.. it's just a dumb tattoo.”

The woman sighed in relief, the patrons in the line pulling their attention off of you as she began to apologize but you waved it off as being okay as the three of you made your way back to the door. While you stepped back onto the street you pulled your hair back over your neck and bit into your cheek nervously. That article had spread faster than you realized. A sinking paranoia had you over analyzing everyone on the street and it wasn't until you had acceded the stairs to the third floor that you could breathe easily. You went to your flat, unlocked the door and led the kids inside who skipped and laughed into the family room to turn on the television as Chip meowed at the returned guests.

You set the groceries on the counter and sighed, rubbing your face to try to settle yourself down before you went to grab the wok and get to work. Your phone chimed loudly in your pocket as you set the heavy cast iron onto the stove. You opened up the screen just as the kids turned on the tv and started to stream their favorite show. Jenny had texted you, you read over the lines quickly in which Jared had asked her about you today and she joking said you had just turned into a dirty hipster with an edgy tattoo. You giggled as you quickly replied that's what you had to tell the woman at the grocery store.

You both agreed that would be your story if anybody else asked in the future, it was easier to laugh off but a dark gnawing still tore at your guts as you prepared dinner. Jared had been Robert's side kick at the firm, always with each other and you could have sworn you saw him as well in that mob outside of Grillby's all those weeks ago. Jenny had said he asked about Sans a few times but you knew he was just being a racist and even if Sans hadn't taken Robert he would have blamed him. Luckily that trail went cold and he stopped pestering Jenny but it seems as if this article would start that up again. You sighed while these thoughts consumed you and as you would glance into the living room to check on the kids you would smile once more, Chip sat right between Frisk and Asriel who took turns petting his soft gray fur.

_'Just relax..'_ you thought to yourself as you waited for the meat to brown and pulled up your playlists on your phone, turning on the soft upbeat music as you went back to preparing everything,  _'It's just a baseless rumor..'_

The music helped you zone out and focus on your cooking but you did make sure to turn the playlist off after the food was ready. Soon you were sitting on the end of the couch and eating with the others as you watched their weird cartoon with them, though you couldn't help but to find yourself also laughing along as the show progressed. Shows were different than when you were a kid but the humor was pretty great and out there. After the kid's finished eating they would set their plates on the coffee table in front of them, you of course ate the slowest but after you were done you picked up all the plates and took them into the kitchen to get cleaned off and put away.

Just as you started to dry your hands in a fresh dish rag you sighed, staring at the sink as you thought. You couldn't keep these guys locked up forever, they needed to run around and play. This was something you couldn't let effect them and their well being just because of the choices you yourself had made, you'd have to really think about what to wear tomorrow and be on the lookout. Normally the park wasn't busy during the week so it should be easy enough to spot someone being weird. Anxiety chewed through your body as you paused with the rag clutched in your hands, your heart beginning to pick up it's pace. Maybe you should come forward publicly and dispel the rumors.. yet doing that would only give the theories more attention and you knew how rabid the internet especially could become.

“My dear..” a deep voice pressed in from behind you, making you jump and drop the rag onto the counter before you turned around to face the scientist who wore a newly replaced black lab coat with his hands behind his back, “You are going to make yourself ill.”

Sighing you leaned back against the counter and folded your arms, turning your attention out into the living room. The kids glanced at you but went back to their show as you spoke, “I guess I'm just really creeped out, G..” you lowered your voice as you looked back into his expressionless face, “I don't want anything bad to happen to them just because of me.”

“The royal family has had their fare share of publicity, theories and negative attention-,” you nodded as he spoke yet your teeth still dug into your cheek,”-these rumors will cease eventually.”

“What if it does come out though, G? Both monsters and humans would go crazy.. they'd hurt you-”

He swiftly brought up his hand and waved your words off with a gentle motion, you gawked at him, feeling frustrated as you tried to press, “How are you so confident about all of this?”

The scientist could feel your irritation but he spoke calmly, “How do you suppose the underground reacted when suddenly, the reclusive royal scientist, had a family?”

You blinked, feeling your shoulders relax as he went on, “There were theories far more close to the truth than this article and still nothing came out of it. The public like to speculate before the next new rumor comes along,” you let out a soft breath through your nose as you leaned your weight onto one leg, his hand gently reaching out to touch the edges of your jawline, “I am always watching, my dear. Remember that. Nothing will come of this.”

Your gazes met, a slightly strained smile tugging at your lips as you pushed off from the counter and slid your arms up under his coat and wrapped them around his back while the side of your face rested into his broad chest. You could feel the light rumbling of a chuckle spread through his ribs as he placed the hand as the back of your skull though the other remained tucked at his lower back.

“Thanks G.. I probably am just over thinking everything..” you murmured, closing your eyes as his scent enveloped you. You still felt wary, still felt nervous.. yet it became a bit easier to push the thoughts from your mind as you pulled back from him and smiled.

Asriel's voice broke through the moment as the both of you turned to the living room, “Does this mean we can go outside more tomorrow?”

You giggled and nodded, “Sure bud. Though if you guys see anybody suspicious point them out to me,” you punched your fist into your palm as you grinned, “I'll have some words for them.”

Frisk giggled and began to sign, _'When did Undyne get here? I didn't see her come in.'_

“I do that good of an impression?” you laughed along with the two kids, a slight smirk tugging at the scientist's mouth as you turned and pulled out some wine for the both of you, “Good, that'll come in handy.”

 

You sat on the couch with the scientist, his arm tucked across the back of the couch while Frisk and Asriel pushed the coffee table out of the way and laid out some pillows and blankets though they both just ended up on their stomachs with their chins propped up into their hands as they watched the TV. You drank wine with Gaster, lightly leaning into his side as you two quietly spoke with one another. You were curious to ask about the fallen monsters and he seemed rather confident, per usual, about the situation and didn't delve deeper than that.

Eventually the scientist did take his leave, parting with a gentle dip of his head against yours before vanishing. You wished he would stop stealing all of your glasses and coffee mugs but it still left you with a gentle smile on your face as you finished up the night with the kids. They insisted on staying in your flat tonight on the floor, you tried to persuade them otherwise but they wouldn't hear it. Even as you made them both bring over a change of clothes and pajamas they crashed onto the floor, a nest of blankets and pillows encapsulating them. You had no choice but to admit defeat and decided to stay on the couch with them in the front room as you fell asleep to the sounds of the television while Frisk and Asriel lightly talked back and forth before also nodding off.

 

Of course you were woken up by both Asriel and Frisk dog piling onto you, knocking the wind out of you in fits of giggles that escalated into a wrestling match on the floor which then you had no choice but to drag them both across the floor as you waddled your way into the kitchen to make breakfast. They both were determined to hang onto your ankles as you went about pulling them across the linoleum full of giggles. With the promise of eggs and toast they were coerced to release you and ate at the counter while you drank some coffee and went through your text messages, just friendly idle chit chat with Jenny and trading a few bad jokes back and forth with Sans for a few minutes but eventually he stopped responding. The conference thing must have been bustling and kept him distracted.

The kids were eager to get going as they jumped down from the counter and ran to get dressed, you put away the dishes and got changed yourself. You were going to just put on a sports bra and loose tank top but you were still paranoid over the tabloid article so instead you dawned a sports turtleneck which would make you a tad warm but that was all right. You finished off with some leggings and running shoes before stepping back out into the living room while you pulled back your hair, the kids were waiting impatiently as they practically shoved you out of the door.

It wasn't long before you all crossed into the park and followed behind the prancing Asriel and Frisk as you all made your way to the secluded, renovated clearing. You all took your time, weaving through the trees and enjoying the fresh air as you walked along. With the white gazebo finally being a shimmering target in the distance the two bolted and ran right into the clearing as you stepped out from the trees to watch them tear across the grass. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to keep them locked up the other day. They started their game of frisbee without you though you didn't mind. You sat on the grass beneath the trees and watched vigilantly, letting your eyes wander the clearing and pause upon the few joggers, dog walkers and morning strollers who paid you no mind.

While you sat you couldn't help but draw in a deep breath of fresh air and slowly press it out as you watched the two kids play and run amok in the clearing. Gaster wasn't worried, but you still were. Maybe it was time for him to remove the mark upon your skin. But.. the longer you sat and thought about it the more it irritated you. You could still talk with the scientist through his moths but you wouldn't be able to read him the same, to silently communicate and you'd have to go through the slow process of learning sign language. Gently you brought a hand up through your hair, trying to breathe calmly while the blue frisbee skimmed the air between the two kids who jumped and dashed from their inexperienced throws.

Even if he were to remove the marks, an idea of which you weren't fond of, there were still pictures and video of the black triangles. You'd have to get a real tattoo in that spot to try to thwart the articles as being photoshopped and that did not sound like a good time. You were just trading one mark for another.. a regular tattoo that didn't help you what so ever versus a magical tie to the scientist that had so many benefits besides getting lectured.

Unknowingly you sat most of the game out, half an hour passing as you thought to yourself. You hoped that the article wasn't popular enough to be a main choice of topic for the others dealing with the political side of things. Asgore was always so collected and confident but you really didn't want to cause trouble, you just wanted to be with your friends and be in the moment.

You sat idly as Frisk tried to jump and catch the spinning disc but it sailed over their head and towards the line of trees which you followed and instantly became tense as you noticed some teenager listening to music with a hoodie, the hood shadowing his face as he watched the child approach about fifty yards out.

Frisk snatched up the disc from the grass and looked up to the teen, pausing as they both met their gazes and you instantly jumped onto your feet as Asriel padded over and also looked to the boy. They remained standing there until you also walked over to which he jerked his head up to you and quickly spun around the tree to run off.

“Hey!” you yelled, snarling as you kicked against the ground and bolted across the field towards the trees. Both Asriel and Frisk nodded to each other before racing on ahead of you, you tried to keep your eyes on the teenager as he jumped and swerved through the aspens. He was going to get away.

With a growl you threw your hand out and commanded, “Stop, you punk!”

There was a tug on your soul, your markings feeling as if they were moving against your skin as suddenly a skeletal hand appeared behind the young man and grabbed onto the back of his hood. The boy let out a choking gasp as the sudden snag pulled him from his feet and sent him tumbling to the ground just as Asriel and Frisk had to lean back in an attempt to slow their approach. They had to stumble and skip to a stop just beyond the boy before turning back around, Asriel's voice cracking as he yelled down to the struggling, flailing teenager.

“You  _idiot_ , what were you doing?!”

Panting you stumbled up upon the kid, your eyes widening as you saw him trying a wrestle his jacket out of the intense grip of a skeletal hand, the hole in it's palm shimmering through the canopies filtered light. You spun around, looking through the trees but saw no one there. The kid spat like a weasel as he kicked at the ground and sent a cloud of dirt at the kids, Frisk coughed as you turned back around and put your hands on your hips while you stepped into his line of sight.

“Stop squirming like a bug you sicko, you took those pictures of me didn't you?” your eyes narrowed into a hard glare. The kid looked young not even eighteen yet as he stared up at you with brown eyes and a flushed face, he stammered as if trying to defend himself but his wriggling caused a cell phone to fall from his pocket still connected to the ear buds. He tried to reach for it but you kicked it across the ground where Asriel swiftly nabbed it from the earth, Frisk stepped up beside the goat child as he dusted off the screen before pulling the headphones out and tossed the cord behind him.

“I-i wa-wasn't do-doin' nothing lady!” he whined, his hand finally meeting the skeletal one that held him and he immediately froze as he stared wide eyed up at you.

“Y-you're a mon-monster?!”

Blinking curiously as you caught your breath you shook your head in denial slowly, your eyes trailing to the hand. You really weren't sure how this happened but you couldn't let it distract you from this weirdo. He couldn't get away with doing this. Perhaps Gaster really was always watching.

“Ah!” Asriel chirped, “You're such an idiot, kid. You didn't even have a password on your phone-! Oh.. Sun-” you tilted your head over your shoulder, the kid still frozen in shock as the goat and Frisk looked up to you slowly with Asriel's clawed finger hovering over the screen, “-you should see this.”

He turned the phone around as you tilted your figure more towards the kids and saw rows upon rows of pictures and video of you and the kids not just from today but from last Tuesday, you recognized the photo from the article and with a snarl you whirled around and kicked the kid right into the side of his calf. He let out a cry as he tried to kick back at you but you just simply stepped back as you leaned further over, your fingers digging into your hips.

“What's your name..?” you demanded.

“J-just let me go! I won't do it again!”

“I said-” you slammed the toes of your shoe back into his already sore calf, getting another yelp from him while the hand held him firmly to the ground from just behind his head, “-the  _fuck_ is your name?!”

“D-dennis!” he choked, tears brimming in his eyes as he begged, “Just let me go-!”

You threw your right hand out to the side, the skeletal hand following suit and jerked the kid awkwardly across the ground so he spun slightly towards you. Your marks churning against your flesh as you sneered, “Not until you tell me what the fuck you are doing. Why are you taking pictures of us?!”

“I-i dunno man-!” he yipped, flailing around as he tried to pull free from the bony fingers that kept him off his center of gravity and on the ground.

“Don't play games with me, Dennis!” you had half a mind to kick him again but Asriel trudged up to the both of you and threw the phone into the ground, the teenager tried to beg him to stop but it was too late.. the goat child stomped the device into the ground and effectively cracked the screen. With a burst of light the device went cold. The kid cried out.

“D-dude! No-not cool!”

Frisk folded their arms tightly across their chest, glaring down to the teen as Asriel spat with his tiny fangs showing, “No,  _you're_ not cool.”

You nodded, the teenager kept his gaze on the kids as Frisk pulled their arms apart and smashed their fist into the palm of their hand while Asriel lifted his chin and folded his arms in front of his chest. The teenager turned back to you as you stepped closer, your patience wearing thin as you pointed your hand to him. The summoned hand drug him back a few feet across the uneven ground, you were directing the hand but you had no idea how or why. A terrified cry drew from his throat as you spoke, “You're going to tell me. Right,  _now_ .”

“Okay-! O-okay!” he squeaked, holding his open hands to you as you took another step forward, “I'll tell you just let me go!”

Asriel snarled, his voice cracking as he yelled, “Tell us fi-RST!”

“Look, look,” he pulled his shoulders up as you took another step forward, the boys legs drawing up into a bend as he shied away, “I don't ca-care wh-who you bang or whatever-” he jumped as you curiously lifted your hand and the summoned hand jerked him into a seated position, you scrunched your brows as you stared past the kids head and to the hand. This was too strange.

“-Fi-fine! Look, I-i just needed some cash, okay? My-my fr-friends bro said he'd pay for pictures of your.. your tattoo thing. Th-that's all I know, I swear!”

As you watched the sniveling coward shake and quiver with sweat building up on his face you sighed, your muscles relaxing and in turn the summoned hand vanished. The teenager scrambled onto his feet and lurched forward on all fours in the opposite direction. Asriel and Frisk sighed in aggravation while you lunged forward and held out your hand, attempting to summon the hand again but it didn't work, “Come back here!”

The kid glanced over his shoulder in sheer panic but crashed into something hard. The blow knocked the wind out of him and sent him stumbling backward as he gasped and jerked his attention forward to the looming Lich who gazed down to him with a bored expression, his hands clasped behind his back. Dennis tentatively continued to step back, a shrill whine pulling from his throat as his legs trembled. The kids and yourself came up at his back but stopped a few feet away, you had him cornered.

“W-whoa-!” the teenager stammered, holding his hands up with his palms facing the scientist as he took a few more steps back. The monster was so large the kid had to crane his head up to look straight at the scientist's cracked face as you growled behind the nervous teen.

“Who is this friend!?” you snapped, drawing the kid to slowly look over his shoulder to you. You could see the pure horror in his features

“I- I dunno anything else, I swear-! J-just let me go, man,” he nearly wept, you were so angry you had no sympathy for the kid.

“You've been stalking me for almost a week and that's all you have to say for yourself?” you growled with frustration, the marks on your skin beginning to tingle.

“I really d-don't, I just needed the cash that's it- I swear!” the kid let out a gasping wheeze as the scientist's hand shot out from around his back and clasped around the boys frail throat. Your eyes widened as you gazed up at Gaster, his expression completely blank while his hand hoisted the teenager almost on his tip toes. The boys eyes were wide and leaking tears all down his face, the scientist's fingers squeezing into the sides of his throat just beneath his jaw as the kid tried to twist out of his grasp and clawed deeply at his hand in a vain attempt to get the pressure to stop.

“G..” you murmured, still feeling fired up but you knew the violence this monster could commit if pushed hard enough, “He is just a kid.. Maybe he doesn't know anything else.”

The doctor lightly tilted his head to the side, watching the boys struggling features as the teen attempted to tear at his hand and wrist desperately. Curiously the man tightened his grip, the boy gasping in a shrill squeak as panic set into the teenager's gut. Desperately Dennis tried to strike out with his legs but fell short. The squirming, the struggling.. it pulled a slight twinge from the Lich's soul. You felt his magic squirming along within your chest as you gently lifted a hand.

“G, come on.. it's not worth it,” you muttered. Asriel was watching as if it didn't bother him, almost seeming smug about the teenager getting punishment while Frisk held their arm uneasily.

The doctor lightly hummed, the sound dark and reverberating through his broad chest as his hand gently dropped to let the human stand fully on his own feet and loosened his grip just enough so that the teenager could gasp and gulp down air. The boys eyes were nearly rolling in his head as he caught his breath and coughed, his clawing easing up on Gaster's hand and arm yet he still clung to the monster. The teenager began to sob in utter terror, repeating as if it were a mantra, “I-i don't kn-know an-anything, please..please..”

You blinked as your eyes focused in on the Lich's, he was tuned into the human in his grasp as his head lightly tilted in the other direction with a form of intrigue. Asriel huffed and kicked at the dirt impatiently while you were frozen in place, you had no idea what the monster was thinking but it didn't feel right.

You thought it best to snap the man out of his feral fixation as you cleared your throat and spoke up, “G..” the monster bounced his bright white eyes to you as he loomed over the boy who had started to struggle once more but no matter how hard he fought, tossed and clawed it didn't even budge the scientist's arm, let alone the grip at his throat.

“Was that you earlier?” you asked, his eyes staying locked into yours as he remained silent. You tried to press carefully, “One of your hands grabbed him while we were chasing this jerk,” you had to raise your voice over the desperate mantras of mercy the kid was blubbering, “it's the only way we caught him otherwise he would have gotten away..”

His undamaged socket slowly began to narrow at you as he turned his attention back to the teenager who had clawed his sleeve upwards to expose his tattered forearm, the kid didn't have long fingernails but even if he had it wouldn't have effected the thick hide of the Lich.

Gaster's deep, warbling and static popping voice caressed over the boy as he spoke, “Interesting..”

The kid froze, you could almost hear how hard the teenager's heart was beating against his rib cage as the scientist definitely could feel it pushing at his clawed digits wrapped around the kids scrawny neck. You blinked wildly and spoke, full of confusion, “That wasn't you..?”

“No,” he replied, each time he spoke Dennis would cringe and try twisting out of his grasp.

Asriel smiled up at you, placing his hands in his pockets as you met his gaze, “I guess you can share magic like you share soul energy with him.”

The teen froze, stammering, “I-it's tr-true...?”

The three of you flinched while the scientist remained resolute, Asriel noticed his slip up and nervously grinned at you as you sighed. A choking, gasping wheeze drew your attention back to the Lich who lifted the boy clear off the ground and tightened his grasp around the teen's neck. The kid kicked wildly, gasping for air that just couldn't make it through and started to turn red.

“G!” you cried, trotting up beside him and set your hand on his arm as the monster stared expressionless at the boy whom's shoulders were a few heads higher than you, you were careful about the kids flailing as your fingers dug into the monsters arm, “G, let him go! He can't prove anything Asriel destroyed his phone.”

The Lich shook you off gently, your bite marks tingling deeply within your flesh as he murmured, “Don't worry, my dear..” he took his time as the boy's struggling started to falter, his hands slipping down his forearm limply, “We just have something to discuss.”

With a light smirk tugging at his mouth the scientist vanished with the young boy in tow. You turned to look at Asriel and Frisk. Asriel was smiling sheepishly though Frisk was rubbing the side of their arm with their eyes down cast. You couldn't blame them, a dark feeling began to sink into your gut.

“So,” the goat cut in, “I guess you have magic now..?”

Slowly you glanced down to your hand, flexing your fingers and curling them before relaxing. His attempt to distract the conversation from the Lich's anger wasn't really working but you replied anyways, “I.. I guess..?”

You were transfixed, stunned and unsure of what just happened. You summoned one of his attacks somehow. It seems as if the scientist didn't even feel it or notice it at all. Not to mention the Lich stole off with the young boy, what was he going to do to him..? If Gaster wanted to kill him.. wouldn't he have done it right there? Your gut flipped in discomfort. Asriel looked between the two shocked humans and sighed heavily, he first walked over to you and grabbed onto your hand before leading you over to Frisk as he grabbed their hand too and led you guys out of the forested part of the park back to the clearing. You glanced to the ground as you saw the shattered screen of the cell phone that boy had, a mix of emotions flooding you as you three left the device partially covered in debris.. lying alone in the woods.

 


	2. Alternative Theories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster has something in mind for the human named Dennis, though it's unsure of what he is planning.

Back in the research lab the scientist slowly stepped down the hall, the nearly passed out human barely clinging to consciousness. A few technicians scattered out of his way per usual, pressing their backs firmly against the wall as they stared at him in horror. The Lich passed them by and paid them no mind, the warm flesh of the teenage boy's throat tickled his claws as the scientist noticed shock setting into the human. Interesting.

Gaster summoned a hand to open one of the many doors lining the hallway and stepped into an empty examination room, slamming the door loudly behind him. The noise slightly startled the boy but it didn't really sink in until the Lich raised the human up a tad higher then crashed the lanky body down onto the hard exam table, keeping his fingers at the boys bruised throat as the scientist loomed above the rapidly flicking pupils of the teenager.

“You like stalking..?” he cooed, loosening his fingers around the boys neck as he gasped and coughed into a fit while the scientist continued to murmur, “Today's lesson should sit well with you then.”

The boy continued to struggle with his breathing as the doctor let him go and strode to the side of the room towards the cabinets, with a wave of his hand a row of skeletal hands appeared and snatched up the boy's legs to keep them pressed into the cold table beneath him. Dennis continued to wheeze, clutching at his throat before two skeletal hands grabbed onto his wrists and jerked them down to his sides, holding him firmly as the scientist rummaged through the cabinet patiently.

“W-what-” the boy coughed, his voice raspy and damaged as new tears streamed down his face, “W-where am I? Wh-what are you g-gonna do to me?”

The doctor remained silent, his sockets slightly twitching as the door slammed open just as he pulled a large needle from the supply box.

“A-a Hu-human!? D-doctor!” Alphys sputtered, her hands up to her mouth as she tucked her tail down by her ankles and gazed upon the exam table in fear.

Gaster slowly turned back around, shutting the cabinet as the boy tried to plead for help though the scientist wasn't paying attention to him as his gaze focused on the yellow lizard at the doorway. He noticed the slight crowd at the door and lifted a hand to motion her inside. Tentatively she stepped in and gently closed the door behind her with both hands, the bolt softly clicking into place as she turned back around and found the scientist standing with a needle in his free hand while the other was hovering over the chest of the squirming teenager.

“Th-this is-isn't w-what I mea-meant!” she quivered, tapping her claws together as she stood by the door. The doctor ignored her, turning to the exam table to see the human shaking near bad enough to rattle the equipment. It stirred.. something within him. Yet he couldn't quite place it, he found himself staring down at the boy with the needle in his hand while the other remained hovered above the boys chest. With any luck it'll be just the type they needed, otherwise.. he could make due.

He heard Alphys step up next to the table, her claws ticking across the smooth floor as she stammered, “W-we ma-may be low o-on soul energy.. b-but w-we can make it work!”

The scientist pressed a long exhale from his chest as his hovering claws turned and molded something between his fingers before laying his palm open to the ceiling, a black moth with a torn wing resting upon his white hand. The moth quickly fluttered into the air as the doctor rotated his hand back down. Oliver skittered through the air and landed on the back of Alphys' wrist which she only flinched at, she was getting used to this type of communication but the bug on her skin still made her nervous.

“Doctor Alphys,” he murmured, his claws twitching above the heaving chest of the wildly murmuring boy. The scientist blocked out Dennis' desperate words of questioning as he continued to speak with the woman nearing the exam table, “Determination alone is not enough to save a soul, let alone all the monsters under our care.”

“Y-yes, b-but-”

“It is either we restock-” his white pupils flicked over to her, his claws gripping at the air while pulling his hand up to draw the human's soul forth. A much easier experience than the girl had been, “Or they all die.”

“Y-you can't just take random kids from the surface!” she snapped, narrowing her eyes as she moved in closer to the table, she was much shorter than him but still tried to glare him down.

“Ah.. what would you call this then..?” he muttered sarcastically, his gaze flicking back to the human as it finally shut up. The boy was entranced by the bright blue heart floating above him which pulsed rapidly under his immense stress.

“P-patience,” the woman snapped, “s-something yo-you do not seem to have.”

The doctor merely chuckled deeply within his form, the vibrations twisting through the air with the looming thrum of his magical energy invading the area. The Lich glanced back to the woman, noticing how her glasses lightly shivered upon the bridge of her nose as sweat began to form on her brow. Reactions such as this were not common for the Lich to orchestrate but it was always an effective measure when dealing with such a skiddish being.

The teenage boy started to talk once more, much more persistent and loud than the times before as he tried to pull at the hands that held him firmly in place. The scientist muttered as he traded the needle with his other hand and uncapped the pointed metal, the blue soul floating kindly by itself. Hardly any human knew how to direct their soul naturally, it came in handy with these situations as the doctor muttered, “This was the human targeting her.”

Alphys froze up, her eyes turning towards the panicked, begging teenager whose voice was mainly just a jumble of pleading with not much sense to it. She began to speak, “H-how do you-”

“I am always watching,” he cooed, pressing his free hand out towards the humans face who struggled to turn away as the Lich's claws pressed into the boys red, sweaty skin. He ran his claws over the top of the boys brow before setting his palm firmly there with the fingers clutching at his skull.

“Now-,” Gaster mused, examining the needle in his other hand while the boy squirmed and panicked loudly beneath his grasp, “did you need anything else from me?”

She started to speak strictly once more, “A-asgore's not going t-to like this-” the scientist paused his approach of the needle towards the soul as he retorted.

“You can either assist me or you can fail-” he jerked his attention to the woman, her eyes going wide, “-just as you had in the underground. What is one, troubling human's comfort, opposed to the fallen monsters under our responsibility, Doctor Alphys..?”

“I.. I-” she stammered, flinching as he continued.

“A human that has put Sun in public eye and speculation, the possibility of more stalking and predatory action is immediate. Does that not deserve consequence..? Does that not deserve.. Justice?” he hummed, the woman turning her gaze to the floor as she tapped her claws nervously. Oliver fluttered his wings against her wrist as her shoulders trembled.

With a light smirk tugging at his fangs he went back to work, not bothering to make eye contact with the human as he lowered the needle towards the soul. The boy was highly unsettled, causing the Lich to dig his claws into the boys head and lean some weight down onto him as he gently sunk the cold metal point into the now shuddering and flashing soul. The boy began to scream hysterically, his body nearly convulsing as the scientist plunged the cold needle in a bit farther. Alphys hid her face in her hands, shaking nearly just as bad as the boy. While the human's noises were obnoxious it also stroked something along his soul. That familiar.. that odd.. sensation.

The doctor took his time as the boy coughed and heaved, his eyelids fluttering wildly as shock enraptured his body while the scientist slowly drew a bright blue substance from the soul. It took some time to fill the needle, he would have to be careful to not work too quickly otherwise the subject would pass out. That would be an unkind lesson to give. The doctor felt his tongue slip across the back of his jagged canines as the boy writhed on the table, the kid's violent struggles reverberating against the hard metal table and clattered loudly against the walls. Gaster's focus was broken as a clawed hand grabbed up onto his arm. A peculiar clip played in his mind, reminded of the girl clutching onto him earlier, _'G, let him go!'_

With an irritated, slow blink the scientist drew the nearly full needle from the weak, barely pulsing heart. Gaster handed the needle to Alphys, getting her to let go of him as he leaned down over the human and pushed the throbbing soul back within his chest with his now free hand. The doctor was sure to channel his magic through his fingertips into the sniveling human as it struggled to keep focus on the looming Lich as he murmured, “I will do much worse to you if I catch you sniffing around her again, boy.”

The human's eyes fluttered weakly, his body was cold and trembling like a leaf as the doctor pressed closer. The scent of scotch wafted across the boys face as Gaster gently chuckled, “I would gladly tear you asunder and feast upon your marrow..” for an added effect the scientist narrowed his eyes as his brilliant line of sharp canines gleamed down at the boy in contrast to his black gums. A deep, thundering snarl tore up through the Lich's rib cage and purged through his throat like a true predator. The human whimpered weakly, no more tears left to shed yet he still jolted and turned his face like a coward as the Lich snapped his teeth loudly at him. With a bored huff Gaster straightened back up, shoving the teenager's head as he released the kid. His expression was nearly instantly dropped to his bored, neutral one.

Alphys blinked rapidly as she stared at the floor, clutching the large needle with both hands as the liquid inside lightly vibrated against her skin, “W-was th-that necessary..?”

The doctor remained resolute, snatching the needle from the quivering lizard as he capped the syringe and pocketed it along with hands within his lab coat. The Lich made his way to the door, a summoned hand grabbing the handle as Alphys whirled around and stammered quickly.

“W-wait. Wh-what ar-are we going t-to do with him..?”

The doctor turned to look over his shoulder with a blank expression, the woman had been crying. Pathetic.

“You seem concerned, Doctor Alphys..” she blinked nervously as the monster opened up the door and tossed over his shoulder, “you take care of it.”

The door slammed behind him as he stepped into the hall filled with a suspicious amount of scurrying.

 

***

 

Eating at the diner today was difficult. Frisk was quiet the entire time while you and Asriel mainly chatted, you tried to get Frisk to get in on the conversation but they were obviously shaken by the scientist's violent tendencies. It was nothing as to what happened with Robert and you doubt the monster would kill the boy, Gaster was too smart to kill willy nilly.. Unless the kid somehow attacked him. No matter what you tried though.. it didn't help settle the child as they pushed through their waffles which both you and Asriel had already finished.

Sighing you gently pushed your empty plate to the side of the table and sat your forearms on the wood, clasping your hands together as you softly spoke to the ambassador, “Frisk..” they didn't look up at you nor Asriel who had turned his attention to his sibling, “G is.. Well, he can be a bit intense sometimes. He was mad because he wanted to protect us.”

Frisk set their fork down and leaned back against the booth as they raised their hands and slowly signed with a frown, _'There's always a way to end a conflict peacefully..'_

Asriel placed his hand on Frisk's arm gently, “Frisk.. not everything can be solved by just being nice..”

Nodding you bit into your cheek, speaking up and drawing the children's attention, “I agree that.. what Gaster did wasn't a very nice thing, Frisk. But.. for someone like him.. he was pretty refrained. Does.. does that make sense?”

Frisk scrunched their eyebrows in confusion, though Asriel seemed to understand as he took it from there, “Remember when I was a flower?” Frisk looked to him and nodded, curiosity leaking into their features, “Remember how.. even when I did bad things.. you understood me, tried to work with me..? You didn't give up on me because you believed I could do better and sometimes I know it seemed like it wasn't working but there would be nights where I'd think about it. Gaster is like how I was, he doesn't.. _feel_ , Frisk.”

The child lightly nodded, their gaze floating back to their played in food as you added on, “He is doing a lot better, Frisk.. He just wants to protect us is all.”

Frisk brought their hands up as they looked to you, _'So.. we just have to help him? Like Flowey..?'_

“Kind of,” you smiled softly, “Gaster will probably always be this way.. but he isn't intentionally malicious. He fights back when it's necessary and while he may.. go a bit far.. He is just reacting in a way that he had to.. to survive. You know how when you guys come over and he is really mellow and talks with us..?” Frisk nodded, studying you as you went on, “he's really a composed person. He acts aggressive because that's how he managed to survive.. whether it was in war or in the void.. Do you understand a bit better now?”

Frisk paused but did nod their head, picking their fork back up to actually start nibbling at their food. Both yourself and Asriel exhaled in relief. The last thing you wanted was for Frisk to be scared of the scientist, if that happened the backlash from the others would be much more pressed but the child knew now how the monster processed thought. Asriel related to Gaster in a way not either of you could, he was firm in his belief that it was worth trying to understand the veteran even though it may be a slow process. An idea in which you agreed with. You accepted the monster for what and who he was, you weren't expecting anything different from the type of animal that you were dealing with. As long as he stayed in check, didn't kill anyone.. didn't do anything unwarranted, you were okay. Though you truly had no idea where the Lich stole off with the kid.. your markings were tingling and not itching so he wasn't irritated where ever he happened to be. You took it as a good sign.

 

The walk back to the apartment was easy going, Frisk had lightened up and giggled along side Asriel as they avoided cracks and lines in the sidewalk. You smiled as you watched them, a nagging sensation at the back of your mind as you were wondering what the scientist was possibly doing to that boy.. yet as you noticed strangers giving you disgusted stares the concern was bitterly wiped away.

Back in your flat the kids fell down onto their make shift blanket beds on the floor, exhausted and full of food. You chuckle and figure you might as well do your own chores to stay occupied as the kids turned on the TV and relaxed. Chip followed you around the flat as you went about your business, feeling a bit too quiet you pull out your phone and go to turn on a playlist but Alphys starts calling you. Curiously you furrow your brow while standing in the hall and answered it, holding the phone to the side of your face as she begins to stammer wildly.

_“T-there's a k-kid here- w-w-hat sho-should I do- h-he's hu-hurt”_

“Slow down, Alphys.. Take a breath I can't understand you..” you spoke, glancing out into the living room before turning to step into your room and stood by the dresser as you watched out the window. The woman on the other end took a few shaky breaths in and out before speaking one more time.

 _“D-doctor Gaster. He.. he came back to the research l-lab with... with a human-,”_ you began to bite into your cheek, so that's where he was. You braced yourself for the worst as she went on, _“He took s-some of t-the kid's s-soul energy... and.. and..”_

“He's dead..?” you murmur, drawing your other hand up to your face to touch at your temples as you closed your eyes.

 _“N-no,”_ she stammered, a deep sigh pressing through your chest in relief as you dropped the hand and held onto your bicep as you listened, thank god.

 _“B-but he's hurt an-and I d-don't know how to help..”_ she sounded close to tears, starting to speak but you quickly cut her off.

“Alphys, you should let him rest..” you thought for a moment before remembering that you saw the kid listening to music while he was watching you at the park, “he likes music, find out what type he likes and play it for him.”

“W-what..? Th-that's not-”

“Just trust me.. G says that human souls respond to the things we enjoy..” you tried to push the memories of the scientist's methods of healing out of your mind, “Like food.. and.. stuff. Give him like twelve hours and make sure he drinks a lot of water, it'll suck a lot but he'll be fine.”

 _“W-whatever you say..”_ she murmured, about to hang up but you quickly chimed.

“G didn't.. didn't do anything crazy though, right?”

 _“Besides k-kidnapping a-and illegally using a s-soul..? No,”_ she huffed sarcastically, you could tell she was irritated.. most everyone was irritated whenever they had to deal with the scientist.

Alphys softly called your name, dropping her voice as she spoke, _“He doesn't.. hurt you.. does he?”_

“Why does everyone keep asking me that..?” you sigh, “Look, G is intense.. I get that. Just know that he only acts that way when he feels pushed otherwise he's really quite mellow.”

_“I.. I just have never seen a m-monster with so much ag-aggression,”_ she almost whispered,  _“Monster s-souls are made of th-things like compassion and.. I j-just don't know..”_

“He basically died, Alphys..” you spoke gently, trying to ease her down, “I'm sure that would.. unsettle anybody.”

_“Sans said he's always been this way..”_ she whispered, pausing for a few moments before continuing,  _“I.. I just want to make sure ev-everything's okay.”_

Huffing gently you chewed at the inside of your cheek and nodded, murmuring, “Yeah. I'm fine, Alphys. I know you guys are just looking out for me but to be honest I was expecting him to kill Dennis-”

_“D-dennis..?”_

“Yeah, that kid he brought in.”

_“W-why would he do that..?”_

You brought your hand up to rub at your face slowly, no matter how many times you tried to get the others used to Gaster's train of thought they just couldn't understand him. You explained softly despite your irritation, “That kid took those pictures of me.. G would have thought to just get rid of him and solve the problem permanently.. but he didn't.”

 

Alphys listened tentatively as she watched the weak human wheeze on the table, she had to give him a sedative otherwise he would have undergone another panic attack. Your voice murmured into the air of the exam room through the speaker,  _“That must count for something.. right?”_

The woman nervously adjusted her glasses as she looked to the closed door, “I.. I suppose.”

_“He really is not evil. He's just.. adjusting,”_ your heavy sigh echoed in the room as the woman turned to look back at the human on the exam table, purple and red bruises shimmering against the light on his throat as you went on,  _“I wish you guys could see who I see..”_

 

After a few more moments of gentle murmuring between the two of you she said he was starting to wake up and she'd call you back if she needed any more advice. You sighed as you hung up, staring at your phone for awhile before you finally shook it off and started up a playlist before sticking the phone on top of the dresser to play music as you went to work straightening up. You could hear the kids joking around as you tidied and it brought you back into the moment of your work, though as you started to put away your clothes in the closet you caught sight of the scientist's black lab coat and gently touched the fabric.

He hadn't killed that boy. Exhaling you drew your hand back and put away the rest of your clean clothes before gently shutting the closet door and looked back around to find Chip laying on your fresh pillow. Setting your hands on your hips the cat slowly blinked at you with a smile, you grinned before slowly blinking back and turned to go into the living room. Baby steps.. one thing at a time. Progress was progress though you'd have to bring up being able to use his magic the next time you saw him. Perhaps that would help distract the Lich enough to stay out of trouble for the next few weeks as surely Asgore would be upset at this situation. Curiously you stopped in the hallway, scrunching your eyebrows and raised your right hand as you tried to summon a hand. Nothing happened. Asriel and Frisk caught your attempt and began to giggle as you padded over to join them.

“Was worth a shot,” you laughed.

 

The rest of the night went well, you made a quick dinner and ate around the coffee table as you all played a board game. Frisk always won, no matter what it was. It made Asriel highly competitive but you just enjoyed the time spent with the two siblings. Toriel had been sending you text's throughout the game on how everything was going so you all posed for a selfie though Asriel still looked rather frustrated, it was hard for him to be anything less than adorable as his cheeks would puff up anytime he was upset. While the night drew to a close and you all nestled into the living room together you couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed as the scientist didn't come back tonight, you wanted to ask Gaster what happened but it would have to wait for a few days as he was probably entrenched in his work again.

 

***

The following day went pretty much the same as days would usually go when you watched the siblings. You all played at the clearing in the park in the early morning, not one person bothering you or stared for very long even with your mark showing above your t-shirt. While you all were walking back home close to noon, laughing and joking around you soon came face to face with Undyne and Papyrus who both were in casual clothing as they waved you all down. They were standing next to a parked, new SUV which you assumed was Undyne's.

Gleefully you guys skipped up to them, the kids doing some sort of convoluted friendship handshake with the two while you watched laughing loudly. Papyrus smiled down to you.

“HUMAN SUN! JUST IN TIME!”

“Just in time for what, Paps?” you chuckled as Undyne set her fists on her hips and gave you a toothy grin.

“We're goin' to the lake punk!” her face scrunched up into a challenging smirk, “And you're comin' with!”

“W-wha?!” you squealed as Undyne grabbed you, heaving you up over her shoulder in a fireman's carry as she pranced inside of the building and bolted up the stairs. Papyrus was right behind her with either child on his shoulders, it was like a race to the third floor with japes being thrown back and forth between the two competitively. You were laughing hysterically but the pressure in your gut from the woman's hard shoulder started to make you sore, it was amazing how in shape she was as she ascended the staircase effortlessly.

Heaving as the woman finally reached the third floor and began to stomp over to Toriel's flat you pushed the hair from your eyes as you smiled at Papyrus who walked just behind you, “The lake..?”

“NYEH HEH! YES! AN EXCELENT TRAINING ARENA FOR UNDERWATER BATTLE SCENARIOS!”

Asriel snorted, placing his elbow on top of the skeleton's head, “When are you ever going to need to battle under water?”

“THEORETICAL UNDERWATER BATTLE SCENARIOS!”

You were swept into the flat, in another fit of laughter as Undyne stood with you still flung over her shoulder. You could hear Sans beginning to laugh along with Toriel though you just folded your arms, only able to see into the hallway as Papyrus skipped up beside Undyne.

“Found em!” Undyne stated, Sans low chuckle coming to a stop as he snorted.

“she said yes to coming along?”

“She doesn't get a choice!” the warrior cheered as you gasped and quickly swiped your hand down to smack her on the ass which she jumped at quite high.

“You villain unhand me this instant!” you drawled, playing it up as you rested the back of your hand against your forehead.

“Smack me like that again and you'll be askin' for it!” Undyne sneered, jostling you on her shoulder as you both laughed.

“heh.. _ass_ -kin” Sans added, you lost it along with the rest of the room while Papyrus sighed with exasperation as the lanky skeleton set the two kids back down onto the ground. The woman's shoulder was really beginning to dig into your ribs so you reached down and gently patted her rear as the giggling started to ebb off. You could hear Toriel's faint murmurings off across the room, probably talking to the kids.

“Please let me down?”

She just laughed and heaved you from her shoulder and onto the ground to which you gasped and rubbed at your sore gut with a smile. You turned to face the room as the kids and Papyrus burst down the hallway with Toriel in tow. Sans noticed your confusion as he broadened his smile, “they're gettin' the kids' stuff in order.”

“Should we just meet you up there, Sans?” Undyne smiled, stuffing her hands into her pockets as he nodded.

“Wait wait,” you held up a hand, smiling, “Are we going swimming..?”

Undyne beamed her jagged teeth down at you, her facial fins quivering as she nodded and you giddily ran out of the door. Mentally kicking yourself you spun around and poked your head back into the door, “One sec-” then skiddered off to your flat.

You could hear them laughing as you threw open the door and bolted down to your freshly cleaned room and got changed. You threw on a bikini, tossed on a baggy white tank top and short shorts. After you finished getting changed you put away your discarded clothes and as you set them in the closet your eyes caught onto the scientist's hung up lab coat. It made you take pause, blinking softly as you sighed with a smile and patted a lapel gently as you murmured.

“Be back in a bit, G.”

You snapped out of it and closed the closet, grabbing a hair tie from the bathroom to pull up your hair as you strode from the flat with your cellphone left behind to charge. The only person that would possibly need to get a hold of you was Jenny, Gaster didn't have a cellphone and you both silently communicated throughout the day just fine without it. You quickly locked the door to your flat but as you padded back across the hall you slowed, hearing the voices talking rather seriously as Undyne spoke.

“Yeah, Alphys was pretty freaked out.. Apparently that kid has bruises all over his neck and the kid's back is all super sore from being thrown down.”

Your heart began to race in your chest, biting onto your lip as you stood in the hall and listened.

Sans' voice was harder to make out, “damn..”

“She says the kid is responding well to music though like Sun suggested-”

“i don't like how she knows that..”

You could feel your hands starting to ball into fists as you glared at the floor, back to this conversation again..

“Well it is true he could have just killed the kid. Honestly, Sans I would have beaten that slime ball into the dirt!”

A smirk tugged at your lips as you strained to listen, Sans lightly chuckled, “how hard would it have been to scare off a sixteen year old..? he always takes things too far.”

“Maybe,” you blinked wildly at Undyne's words, “Alphys says they finally have more components to make another serum that should help the monsters that fell though, something good came out of it.”

“does alphys see it that way?”

The woman hummed deeply as you shook your head, snapping out of your eavesdropping and made sure you skipped to the door rather loudly before you burst through the entrance and stood with your hands on your hips.

“Okay, now I'm ready.”

Sans turned his gaze to you while Undyne spun around and gave you a thumbs up, snickering, “I can tell those park runs have made you tone up like a tough bitch!”

“I am a tough bitch!” you laughed, flexing your arms and posing.

Undyne slapped her leg as Sans waltzed up to you, his eyes trailing your form before landing back up onto your eyes, “you look.. comfortable, kid.”

You gently punched his arm, smiling broadly as Undyne went and rummaged through a plastic bag on the counter before pulling out a bottle and crossed the distance to hand it to you. You gently took it and turned the bottle over as she explained.

“Papyrus insisted on milk, 'strong bones' and all. But I remembered you like this shit better so we got you some sick ass, healthy juice instead!”

You smiled, it was your favorite flavor and you nodded to her, “Thanks Undyne.”

There was a lot of rummaging around and the scampering of feet along with Papyrus' loud voice from the back of the flat as Sans chuckled, “we'll just see you there then?”

She nodded, looking to the hall as a scowl crossed her face, “Yeah I'll wrangle these punks out of here!”

With a flash of determination she strode down the hall and began to bark orders at the kids and Papyrus to get their shit together. You laughed and turned to Sans, “We just going to teleport?”

He shook his head and led you out of the door and into the hallway before slowly trudging down the stairs, “nah. too far.”

“Where is it?” you asked curiously, a bounce in your step as you began to realize that Gaster earned brownie points from Undyne even if it was a small amount.. it was a good feeling.

“about forty five minutes out.”

“Not gonna give me a hint?” you grinned as you both made your way to the bottom of the stairs, Sans was so slow.

“nah.”

“Are wee takin' that SUV outside..?”

He chuckled deeply, taking his time before he finally answered as you crossed the last flight of stairs, “nah.”

“Sans oh my god, just tell me,” you grinned as you stepped outside and looked straight ahead, your soul flashing brilliantly with excitement as you noticed a sports coupe parked right behind Undyne's SUV. You hadn't seen it as the large car obstructed your view right before Undyne tossed you over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Are you serious..? That's yours?” you beamed, he merely nodded and that was all it took for you to rush on over and take in the cab as Sans slid around to the drivers side.

“How did you afford this..?” you murmured, perusing the leather seats and rich interior with a nice sound system.

He opened the door and you quickly followed suit before plopping in and set your juice between your legs as you buckled up, the skeleton revved up the engine as he started the car. The deep growling pressing into the cockpit only made your insides tremble with a good kind of anxiety. You looked to Sans with a bright smile as his own devolved into a lewd smirk, placing his hand on the gear shift. Excitement tangled into your body as you looked out at the sidewalk, seeing Undyne nearly bust down the apartment building's door as she had the two kids hoisted under her arms with their backpacks strung over her neck.

She nodded to you both as you waved, the kids struggling too hard in her grasp to even notice the two of you. Sans gave a thumbs up before pulling the car back and started off down the road. The way the engine purred at your feet stained your lips with a permanent smile as you quickly looked to the radio and clicked it on. Sans took the both of you towards the mountain, you had heard about a few lakes being around Mt. Ebott but had never been there yourself. Your old, obnoxious roommates would go a lot but that was more relieving to you as you never had to worry about them being irritating when you were relaxing after work.

You were watching the scenery go by, strands of your messy hair dancing in the breeze while Sans would occasionally steal glances over to you. Soon you had left the city behind, the smell of fresh greenery welcoming you both. Just as you turned to strike up a conversation you noticed something in the mirror and glanced back to see Undyne had made good time on you guys.

“Nooo way!” you laughed, Sans checked the mirror and chuckled as Undyne stuck her tongue out behind the drivers seat and flipped you guys off. Toriel lightly smacked her hand down beside her in the passenger seat though you could tell she was laughing in the moment too even though she fought against doing so.

Sans down shifted, slowing the car as Undyne took her chance and crossed the empty double lines to pass you and left you both behind in her wake. You gawked at what just happened, reaching a hand out as you looked over to Sans with your mouth open. He just chuckled and picked back up to speed, the vehicle growling angrily as he did so.

“Are you kidding me!?” you asked, Sans just rolled his shoulders into a shrug as he looked ahead and watched the SUV disappear through the winding roads weaving in and out between the trees and cliff sides.

“sit tight, kiddo,” he smirked, you swallowed and looked ahead as you were thrown back into the seat and at first it terrified you as the car suddenly burst forward with a high revving of the engine before the skeleton would throw his hand through the gears. Soon you were laughing and turned up the radio as a bass filled song reverberated through the both of you, a light squeal leaving your lips as Sans effortlessly steered the both of you through the road staying aligned as the SUV came back into view.

Your soul pulsed along with the beat, feeling an exhilarating rush as you both gave chase through the empty road after Undyne. Sans gave a good effort but he did have to end up slowing down as you passed through a gentle canyon, the rocky cliff side catching your eyes as you marveled up the mountain face which was shimmering in the sun. Out of breath you took a few good drinks from your juice and sighed as you placed it back between your legs as you reached over and gently turned down the music. Sans caught your eyes as he grinned at you.

“It was that boring over there, huh?” you teased.

“undyne was climbin' the walls by the end.”

“Really?” you laughed, “I couldn't tell.”

The both of you shared a laugh as you cruised past the cliffs and wound around a gentle stream cascading down through the trees on your side of the car. You watched the scenery shift as Sans spoke up.

“how about you, kid?”

You smiled, blinking dreamily as the peaceful forest filtered on by, “It was pretty normal I'd say.”

“really..?” he mused, your brain clicked as you picked up on his meaning.

You sighed and shrugged as you kept your attention on the passing trees, “G had it under control.”

“kidnapping seems to be his go-to for everything.”

You huffed, not wanting to start an argument, “you would have probably roughed that kid up too..” you chuckled, making him pause as you turned towards him, “I actually may have kicked him a few times.. and Asriel smashed his phone.”

The skeleton lightly laughed, his white eyes flicking from the road and over to you as you spoke, “What? He was being a major creep!”

Sans shook his head, his laughter evolving into a fit as his shoulders shook. He had to focus on the road as he guided the car along the side of the mountain, you looked over and smiled as you were whisked away into the hills. You didn't know if you should bring up your new mysterious ability having summoned one of Gaster's hands, especially to Sans. There was still some awkwardness around the both of you and you weren't sure which topics were okay and which ones were not, he was a tad sensitive as he had been before meeting the scientist. Luckily you were getting quite good at deflecting the topic of conversation.

As silence crept up between the both of you your hand reached out to turn up the volume on the stereo, settling into the comfortable atmosphere in the car as the breeze caressed across your skin. While you rested an arm on the inside of the car door, placing your jaw into the palm of your hand and casually hummed along to the song the skeleton glanced over to you. The sun flickered along your skin, the bite mark out of view as he took in the details of your strengthening body while your light tank top billowed in the wind and clung to your chest. Your foot lightly tapping along to the beat.

 

***

 

The scientist huffed gently as he lifted his clawed hand and pressed it into the side of his head right above his temple, the girls energy had been so ferocious for the past few hours it was sparking at his magic in a form of gentle anxiety. He wasn't used to feeling any such sensation besides the ones of carnal indulgence, it made it hard to focus on his work while he went about fracturing the borrowed teenage boy's energy. It had crossed his mind to bleed the excess golden energy vibrating along his cracked soul into the machine as well but he waved the thought away. It was his and his alone.

A light knocking at his office door pulled his hand down and away from his face as he hummed gently and set the hand into his coat pocket. He stood before a similar machine that had been in his private lab underground though this machine was much more sensitive and could conduct multiple actions from the same sample. Alphys gently opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind her as she waddled up to stand a few feet away. The woman had shooed his summoned moth away shortly after his departure but he didn't truly care to know what had happened after he left anyways.

She was beginning to not be as timid of him, though he wondered if somehow the girl's energy laced through his own and made the woman more comfortable around him on good days, “D-doctor Gaster? S-sun was right and Dennis is recovering.”

The Lich slightly lifted his undamaged brow, flicking his white pupils to the woman who adjusted her glasses on her snout. Her tail was held confidently behind her and not tucked by her ankles as it had been. As if sensing confusion Alphys added, “T-that boy.. from earlier..”

The scientist slowly blinked and went back to watching the machine, that high intensity energy within him was coursing through his dense flesh and made him feel almost light headed. It was nearly too much stimulation as occasionally a spark would cast off of his soul within his chest though only he was aware of it.

“A-asgore is go-going to be upset..a-and D-dennis can't.. _stay_ here, you know,” she went on to say.

The scientist remained silent as he studied the solidifying fragments of light blue energy floating within the tube before him. His claws lightly twitching in his pockets.

Alphys sighed with exasperation as she tried to get to the point, “I can't have Sans take the kid home because they're at the lake-”

The woman blinked wildly as the scientist turned slightly towards her. So that explained it. He pulled a hand from his coat, untangling his fingers to display the little black moth Oliver before he fluttered from the Lich's hand to land upon Alphys' shoulder. She didn't flinch at all this time as the bug lightly waved it's antennae.

“Why are you not with them, Doctor Alphys?” the man murmured, turning back to the machine while he placed his hand into his lab coat once more. She shrugged and replied.

“T-there's a lot of work here.. a-and that boy n-needed me.”

There was a silence that fell between them, the woman lightly clearing her throat as she braved new territory, “W-why.. w-why didn't you go?”

The Lich drew in a deep breath, feeling his ribs expand before slowly releasing it quietly. He hadn't known but it didn't matter for he had work to do. While he could hear the girl's thoughts it was only within close proximity, this far away he was only able to feel her strong soul leak into his own and today it was pouring in much more than usual. She was a blissful girl, confident and curious it was rare her emotions overcame her.

Just as Alphys thought she wouldn't get anywhere the scientist parted his jaws as he gently spoke, “Should I have?”

“W-well.. w-we don't ever.. s-see you do much with her,” the woman stammered nervously, “she.. she obviously likes you a lot.”

His chin dipped in a slight nod, Alphys would have completely missed it if she hadn't been watching. A few moments of awkward silence fell before she spoke up again, taking a gentle step forward, “If I m-may be frank.. Doctor..”

The scientist's white eyes flicked to the corner of his eye sockets, watching the woman expressionless as she began, “I.. I don't see what she sees. W-what you did.. to that boy.. and to her.. is n-nothing I've ever heard of a m-monster being able to do to oth-other living creatures.”

Alphys stayed strong, pulling her shoulders back and standing tall as she continued while the Lich just gazed down at her with an overall bored expression per usual.

“B-but..” the woman sighed, “She.. she insists there's something more there. Y-yet we never see the both of you together.. n-not to mention wh-what you j-just did..”

The Lich turned his gaze back to the machine, the woman's words seeming to bounce off but she continued to press anyhow, “I.. I w-want to be able to.. to believe her.”

Gaster seemed to not be listening, the energy within his body reverberating through his jagged spine down into the tips of his claws and thrummed against his eyes as another spike from the girl washed through his body. It was similar as to when he would lay with her, though he knew that wasn't happening as she was just enjoying her time with friends. It was.. peculiar.

Oliver fluttered his wings as the woman closed the distance and peered up at him, her glasses reflecting the soft blue light of the pieces within the tube, “I-.. I'm not s-sure if you sh-should go.. but.. I-i know she would like it.”

The doctor continued to watch the soul fragments, it would take the machine much longer to fully separate the components. After a few moments the woman sighed, turning away silently and as she stepped closer to the door his voice spoke softly through the room, “Would you like to join me, Doctor Alphys?”

The woman halted, blinking curiously as if thinking she misheard him. She turned to look back at the Lich who remained still where he was, the aqua blue of the soul fragments gently bathing his form in a cool light.

“E-excuse me..?” she stammered.

“I will return the boy back where I had found him,” the scientist stated, turning his gaze to her unblinking, “then we may leave.”

She stared at him, taken aback. A slight smirk tugged at his mouth as he looked back to the machine and added in, “You may wish to change, Doctor Alphys.”

It was time he see for himself what was triggering these emotions within the girl, it was reflecting far too heavily on him. The notion of letting that human go was far beyond what he personally had decided prior but perhaps it was time to test.. alternative theories. Alphys blinked but did eventually scurry away light heartedly, Gaster noticed. Interesting.

 


	3. Elton John is my new Co-pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for some fun in the sun with all of your friends.  
> Lord knows you all could use some relaxation.

The rest of the drive to the lake was an experience. At one point during the drive an Elton John song came on the radio and while Sans just gave you a look you laughed him off and sang along. It reminded you of Sunday drives with your dad when you were a child, the memories nostalgic and joyful while Sans turned his attention to the road. The gentle tone carrying through the wind as you projected your voice and grinned your pearly whites against the suns rays.

_'Blue jean baby,_

_LA lady,_

_Seamstress for the band.'_

The skeleton glanced over at you while you sang along, your soul was rivaling that of the sun itself. Your body lightly wiggling along with the beat as the forest brushed by the car as you two came closer to the lake, you could smell the humidity and it only spurred you to sink deeper into the moment. Sans felt his teeth dug into a deeper grin, it pulled into his sockets while his eyelids drooped. A stirring within his bones beneath his jacket as he settled farther into the leather seat.

_'Ballerina, you must have seen her_

_Dancin' in the sand,'_

You didn't skip a beat, knowing the song by heart. You could feel your soul radiating energy and completely nullified anything Gaster could have been feeling at that point as your skin was covered in goosebumps. It had been awhile since you let loose and the air between yourself and your old friend was perfect for it. You leaned back into the seat as Sans led you both along the road, you had both lost Undyne as she had booked it hardcore down the road while you two enjoyed the time spent together. With your legs crossed, leaning against the door and watching over the passing greenery you continued your serenade.

_'Hold me closer tiny dancer,_

_Count the headlights on the highway._

_Lay me down in sheets of linen,_

_You've had a busy day today.'_

You felt a cold, bony hand on your leg. Startled you jumped and looked to Sans who smirked at you, winking as he swiped your juice from your lap and you laughed as you gently slapped the side of his arm while he held the steering wheel with his knee and uncapped the drink before taking a swig.

“Oh you jerk!” you giggled, suddenly gasping and reached for the bottle as he took too much for your liking and he just laughed before capping it and took a hold of the steering wheel again. His wrist flicking towards you as he gingerly held the nearly empty bottle. You took the bottle back and playfully glared at him but then ended up laughing along with the skeleton as you hurried up and finished your juice before he could attempt to steal anymore, tucking the empty bottle beside you in the seat as these sports cars never had cup holders.

 

It wasn't long before you both arrived on site, Undyne had already parked so Sans swung in beside her. You quickly turned down the radio before the skeleton had a chance to turn off the car and you smiled at him as he gave you a look, “I've given myself enough heart attacks by leaving the volume on loud.”

He chuckled and nodded, the both of you unbuckled and stepped out from the car. You stood and breathed in deeply before looking ahead to spot the small lake just a few hundred yards away, you could make out your group along the shore's edge which was part dirt and slight rock faces though Papyrus was farther out in the shallow part of the water. You hurried on forward towards them, Sans lagging along behind you. Coming up on Toriel with a sunhat on she smiled to you, the kids playing in the shallow water as Undyne let out a war cry and rushed off the side of the rock face in a black bikini that fully showed her lightly scarred body. You couldn't help but to laugh as Papyrus, Frisk and Asriel cheered as she crashed through the water. Those jeers were soon cut off as Undyne lurched back up from the water like a crocodile and grabbed onto Papyrus before heaving him down under the water.

You went pale, it was beyond startling how fast of a swimmer she was. Sans just chuckled beside you, “don't worry kid, skeleton's don't have lungs.”

Letting out a sigh of relief you turned to Toriel while Papyrus and Undyne breached the water full of laughs and loud yelling at one another. The woman spoke softly, “The children were telling us they had a fantastic time with you.”

You smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck, “Nah, they're the ones that are all the fun,” seems like they didn't divulge about what happened in the park, Asriel wasn't willing to snitch on Gaster.

Undyne's loud voice vanished as she dove back into the water, Papyrus cackling while they scurried out of your peripheral vision. Though Frisk, Asriel and Sans continued to watch with mild amusement.

Toriel continued kindly, “I appreciate what you do for them.. they always seem so happy every time they come back home.”

“Yeah.. not sure why, we all just kind of hang out ya know?” you said shyly.

“I feel as if they are not afraid to be their rowdy selves when they spend time with you, my child.”

Sans perked into the conversation, continuing to watch the lake as a bunch of splashing tore through the air, “except them historical documentaries..”

You all laughed lightly at that, “That's only for the rare occasions that they fight. Asriel seems to be doing much better though.”

Toriel nodded proudly, her voice almost beginning to waver, “He has been.. a blessing.. Twice in my life he has been a blessing.”

You smiled fondly to the woman, resting your hand on her arm as she cleared her throat, “Thank you, Sun.”

You just nodded and lightly laughed before Undyne's ear splitting bark broke through your conversation. Turning to her you found the fish woman standing on a free floating log that was quite huge, “Punk! Get in here!”

You glanced to Toriel who nodded at you but as you gazed to Sans he just shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes, “swimmin' takes too much effort.”

He began to open his eyes just as your tank top and shorts hit him right in the face, you yelled back at him “Hold my stuff then!”

You laughed as he grabbed the skimpy fabric and held it in his hand, frozen in place as he watched you bolt away and into the water. Crashing down through the two kids as you kicked up water around them, they laughed and followed you out into the water as Papyrus pulled himself up onto the log and set his chin in his bony hand. The younger brother squinted his eye sockets to the shore as you approached them lazily, the water was cool but not frigid as your body cut through the gently rippling surface.

“HUMAN SUN?! WHAT WAS THAT ATTACK YOU USED ON SANS? IT SEEMS TO BE MAKING HIM SWEATY.”

 

***

Alphys was literally in shock this time as she stepped down the hall with the scientist, Oliver perched on her shoulder. It was like seeing something highly unnatural and it almost disturbed her yet admittedly it put a smile on her face instead.

The scientist trailed along. His posture was actually slack and he wore a thin, zip up dark hoodie and black jeans. The edges of his scars poking up through the fitted tailoring of the jacket as he walked beside the woman who was also dressed casually, the lake would be too hot to wear anything else. He noticed the way she reacted, it would have pulled a smile from him.. but it just wasn't enough a reason to give her any sort of posed response besides his silence. These alternative theories were already proving to be quite intriguing to the Lich.

Interestingly the human teenager remained in the exam room the entire duration of his stay. Gaster didn't care for the boy, it would have been better to sap away it's entire soul yet he knew the king and Sun would not let that act go unnoticed. This way.. everyone got what they wanted as well as the scientist got to start up his new pet project.. Seeing what would happen by using mercy. He already knew what would occur if he destroyed the human but he hadn't counted on Alphys' reactions being so varied from his predictions and that alone made up his mind to proceed.

Alphys carefully stepped up to the door and opened it up, murmuring to the Lich as she pulled on the heavy metal, “H-his soul i-is still rather sore, please b-be gentle.”

Dennis sat across from the door, leaning against the wall with a tablet in his hands attached to a pair of cheap ear buds. The scientist pressed into the room, his shoulders straightening while his chin raised curiously, gazing at the boy who had looked up at him. Gaster could feel the boy's soul stirring as he began to panic while Alphys scampered inside in front of him and knelt down carefully to the teen.

The woman began to murmur softly to the teenager, his hands shakily removing the ear buds as he looked to her with wide eyes. The human was beginning to hyperventilate. The Lich watched with subtle amusement as Alphys set her hand gently on the teenager's shoulder as she smiled and encouraged the boy to stand though it took quite a few moments for the kid to gather himself. Hand in hand the woman helped the human up onto his feet, the boy gently setting the borrowed tablet and ear buds onto the counter though he remained pressed against the far wall as his eyes locked back onto the scientist.

Dennis was also taken a tad off guard by the scientist's casual clothing, though he began to stare at the many scars along his collarbones while the thickest slash of them all poked up against the base of his neck. Alphys gently took the boys hand, the Lich noticed how the human flinched at the act and he wondered if his fear made the subject hesitant with all other monsters. The scientist's eyes dropped to the kids neck and took in the purple welts darkening the skin along his throat, his magic slid like silk through his over powered form.

The scientist gently spoke, making the kid cower away and press into the wall, “You didn't heal the human?”

Alphys sighed, looking over her shoulder as Oliver gently fluttered on her shoulder, “I d-did heal him.. as f-far as I could anyways.”

Gaster began to step forward, keeping a calm pace as he neared the trembling teenager beginning to nearly sob as he begged for him to stay back. Alphys tried to keep the kid steady as she held onto his arm comfortingly. The looming monster's overloaded soul itched with irritation as he stood before the boy, Alphys raising her hand up to him with a glare but he ignored her. Instead the scientist brought forth his hand, his claws reaching towards the boys neck as Dennis flinched and huddled away with his face turned. The human was entering a panic attack, heaving and shaking as the Lich carefully ran his fingertips beneath the boys chattering jaw and pressed his head upwards to get a better look at the stains on his skin.

The scientist perused his work, lightly gripping the teenager's chin as he forced the boy to turn in the other direction. The human's fidgeting, panting and terrified behavior sparked at the Lich's magic. It was as if a fox were seeing the last moments of a cornered chick. Alphys watched him nervously, about to speak up before the Lich suddenly lurched forward and grabbed onto the boys neck before vanishing with both Alphys and the teenager.

 

The travel time was minimal, the Lich's magic pumped and powerful from his tie to the girl. As they entered the park the Lich continued forward with his momentum and tossed the human back onto the ground, forcing Alphys to let go of the boys arm as the kid stumbled, tripped and collapsed onto his read end. Coughing wildly, trembling against the Earth he panted and gripped at his neck too scared to look up at the towering monster as Alphys quickly knelt down beside the boy, tossing a glare over her shoulder.

“I-is this w-what you call g-gentle?!”

“I call it a warning,” he replied blankly, slowly folding his hands behind his back as the woman turned her attention to the boy but Dennis slapped her away from him as he turned and scrambled across the earth to his feet. The Lich watched as the boy sped through the trees clumsily, Alphys sighing heavily while she stood back up and nervously tapped her claws together. Oliver fluttering wildly on her shoulder.

She murmured flatly as the both of them watched the kid fade out into the distance, “I-i.. I ac-actually thought you.. you were going to heal him.”

He hummed lightly, his hand falling onto her shoulder and pressed the bug back into his hand which made her jump as he spoke, “..Interesting.”

She could feel the intense thrumming of his magic against her body before they both were zapped away into thin air.

 

The boy continued to run, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him and while his throat ached and drew him to tears he kept pushing. He thought that the monster was pretty freaky looking on TV but he had no idea the intensity, the pain.. the torture that it could inflict upon his body. He hurt in places he never knew he had, he had a massive headache and felt as if he had been an inch from death lying on that table. Dennis shoved through grasping branches as he burst into the rest of the park and skidded into a halt, wide eyed and dazed he jerked his head around at the moderate crowd of people starting to look at him. The teen glanced hesitantly over his shoulder, expecting that scotch scented monster to be at his back but he was met with only trees.

His mind was made up. It had been made up when that girl somehow had used magic on him, he didn't want to know anything else and he didn't want to be apart of it anymore. Shakily he stepped forward along the sidewalk and blended into the crowd though it didn't help him feel as secure as he had hoped. He would have nightmares of that.. that thing's crazed expression. A flash of pointed, jagged teeth with black gums and eyes that dilated right into his own. That could have been the last thing he saw.. the last thing he heard.. It breathed in like some sort of dragon, rumbling and hitching as the growl rumbled low like thunder. There was no doubt in his mind that creature was a Ghoul like his brother had said.

_'My friend's bro'_ he kicked himself, how stupid. At least that chick seemed to believe him.

A hand reached out and touched his arm. Dennis jumped out of the way, choking down a yell as he turned to the assailant, expecting to come face to face with that cracked, demonic face just waiting to bite into his skull but instead he was met with his brother. Even as he sighed he could still almost feel that creatures hot breath against his face, a shudder running down his spine as his mind sparked an image of the thing biting down onto his face and effectively crunched his cheekbones, sockets and jaw.

A snap of fingers startled him for the third time, blinking wildly at his brother who watched him with concern and anger. Without even waiting for him to say anything Dennis shook his head wildly, “N-no man.. I-i'm out.”

“What..? Dude, what happened-? You've been missing-!”

“That.. that thing-!” he cried out, drawing the crowds attention as the young man broke down while running his hands up through his hair, “I-i'm out, dude. I'm not.. No.”

Dennis tried to turn away but his strong brother's grip held him in place, guiding him off of the sidewalk and beside the tree he was standing under.

“Dude.. dude relax.. What happened? What's wrong with your neck?” he hissed, his fingers digging into the boys shoulder which Dennis whimpered at and quickly smacked his brother's hand off with his wrist angrily.

“Get off me, man!” the stress induced teenager shut down, every time he closed his eyes he imagined that thing looming above him with a needle. His bones had been on fire, his joints filled with gravel. Dennis began to lightly sob, covering his face with his hands as his shoulders convulsed. Tentatively his elder brother put a hand back on his shoulder and pulled him into his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around him.

“I'm sorry Dennis..” he murmured, his eyes staring off into the forest as if looking for something but found nothing.

“I-it's not wo-worth it!” the boy sobbed, whimpering through his words that ached from his sore throat, “D-don't fuck with that thing.. it-it'll kill you man.”

“I can't just give up-”

“You HAVE to!” the boy cried out against his chest. His elder brother had to do damage control and gently nodded to the concerned crowd gathering around. He lightly waved them off and as they finally started to go back on their way the man dropped his voice.

“Den, it proves that it's true.. that girl.. they're connected. We're getting so close to finding R-”

“No! No..N-no..” he wept, shaking his head wildly as panic set into his battered body once more. He felt like heaving the instant noodles that kind monster had given him. Though her comfort was far reaching for the damage that monster caused upon the young man, he had been too scared to even try the door to escape. Dennis continued to cry, murmuring repeatedly, “It'll k-kill you.. I-it'll ki-kill you..”

“..How did you get away..?” the man murmured, listening closely as the teenager in his arms sniffled and tried to breathe through his panic.

“I-it took me.. took me someplace.. a needle-” he shuddered, a new wave of sobs wracking the boy before he could recover his elder brother ran a hand along his sore, bruised back making him hiss in discomfort, “Sh-she was n-nice.. b-but it ca-came back.. i-i .. I w-was s-suddenly back.. at the park.”

The older brother furrowed his brow in confusion, he thought only the skeleton could do that. A deep discomfort filled the man as he held his young brother, realization setting in as the boy continued on weakly, “I-i r-ran.. i-it hurts.. it hu- _hurts_ ..”

As he held onto Dennis the mans eyes began to narrow back to the forest, there was no doubt in his mind now. After a few more minutes his brother pulled away and looked up at him, red in the face matching the edges of the purple bruises along the young man's neck, “L-let it go, J-jared. J-just pl-please I.. I want to g-go home..”

 

***

 

Sans stood atop the rocky outcrop overlooking the lake, the group had been here for quite a few hours now. Undyne had jumped from this very spot earlier but the skeleton didn't feel like pouring water out of his eye sockets today, instead he just took to relaxing in his own lazy way. He watched in amusement, his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets as Undyne, yourself, and Papyrus all attempted to balance on the log in the lake exactly in that order. Frisk and Asriel hooting and hollering just off to the side but a safe distance away.

You laughed hysterically, holding your arms out as Papyrus cackled, “HAH, HUMAN! YOUR LOG PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS ARE QUITE GOOD!”

“Ngyah!” Undyne cried, nearly lurching to the side but managed to steady herself. Her pose was much more elegant than yours as you nearly crouched while Papyrus managed to stand up straight just fine, his arms folded across his rib cage in just swim trunks.

“WHAT WAS THAT UNDYNE? WAS THAT THE SOUND OF SURRENDER, NYEH HEH?!”

Undyne spat out loudly over her shoulder, “Shut up you bonehead! NOBODY CHALLENGES ME AND WINS!”

Asriel laughed and hollered, “Except for Frisk!”

“AH, THE FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGE-!”

“Yeah and we became BEST BUDS!” she shouted, you were laughing so hard it was hard to stay up right as the wood shifted beneath you.

Undyne grunted, steadying herself as she jerked to look over her shoulder, “I swear if you fuck this up Sun I'll push you in!”

“I'm gonna fall all on my own!” you hollered, nearly red in the face as your muscles twitched and corrected in order to remain standing.

 

Your shouting attracted the attention of the Lich and Alphys who wandered through the trees behind Sans. The doctor had felt the disconnect between his eldest son and the others, assuming Sans wouldn't be in the water and luckily he was correct. Although this was one of the farthest teleportations he has ever had to conduct as the research facility was clear on the other side of the city, it sapped much of the overflowing energy but luckily it only relieved the Lich. Enduring a few more hours of that would have forced him to bleed the energy in some way and he didn't feel like letting it go to waste. The scientist stepped lightly yet Alphys scampered up, startling the skeleton as he whipped around and froze.

All smiles Alphys waddled on up to the skeleton, adjusting her glasses, “H-hello Sans! I-i guess I could make it today after all.”

The skeleton was taken back by Gaster's casual appearance, his white eyes drifting over the harsh scars slicing across his chest and neck. The scientist met his gaze with a bored expression, peering up past his son towards the game going on in the lake. Papyrus was laughing along with you loudly as Undyne shouted curse words. Toriel was at the shore, sitting on a rock with a book in her hands. The woman had her back leaned into a tree sprouting between the cluster of boulders.

Sans gently spoke to Alphys yet his gaze remained on the Lich, “so.. i guess the kid didn't make it..?”

She shook her head, pulling his attention to her as she smiled sheepishly, “H-he's going to b-be sore.. b-but he should f-fully recover. W-we dr-dropped him off w-where Sun caught him.”

“..ah,” he replied flatly, stepping out of the way while Alphys came up beside him. The Lich set his hands into the pockets of his jeans and glanced around the landscape. The lake was rather secluded, private. It was small yet also beautiful in color. The scent of the lush foliage, the rustle of the leaves.. it was a moment the Lich never had thought to bear witness to again many times in his life.

Alphys caught the eye of Undyne who grinned broadly up at her and barked, “Babe!”

Startled you lifted yourself up a tad, wiggling the log as you glanced over to the shore but only saw Toriel sitting in her spot still holding her book. Toriel's gaze was turned up to the short, rocky cliff face and as you followed it you squinted. They really weren't all that far but it took you a moment to process who you were looking at, Alphys was waving down to Undyne who laughed and pumped her fist into the air. Sans stood awkwardly beside her as his eyes were cast over to the tall monster beside him in a thin zip up hoodie and jeans. If it weren't for his brilliant eyes shimmering against the cracks in his face you'd have to do a double take.

“G-gaster!?” you gasped, the log suddenly rolling out from under you. Quickly you jumped from the wood and dove into the water as Undyne and Papyrus scrambled but eventually had no choice but to also abandon ship. You breached the water just as the other two hit it, gasping for air as you pushed stray strands of hair from your forehead and whipped around to get a bearing of where you were. You just so happened to be right next to the treading Frisk and Asriel who were giggling wildly. Undyne burst up from the water along side Papyrus who tilted water out of his skull while Undyne literally let loose a battle cry. She drew your attention as she pointed a clawed, webbed blue hand over to you.

“You're dead punk! NGYAH!!”

You laughed, shouting back, “I'm pretty sure you two still tied!”

The floating log was between you two as Papyrus set his arm onto it and laughed, water leaking from his jaws, “TECHNICALLY UNDYNE YOU STILL HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DUPE THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

“What did you say to me!?” she snarled, her webbed hands twitching as she tread water with no difficulty. You laughed while turning your gaze up to the cliff again, Alphys and Sans were talking but Gaster caught your eyes with his own and gently lifted his chin as a smile tugged at his mouth. You lifted a hand and waved to him, turning your attention back to Papyrus and Undyne as she pushed on over to him through the water. It was so weird that Gaster was here right now, dressed like that.. it made you suspicious.

“UNLESS THIS PUZZLE IS TOO HARD FOR YOU UNDYNE! WHO KNEW YOUR ONE. YOUR ONLY WEAKNESS.. WOULD BE DEAD TREES!”

“Rematch bone boy, right  _now_ !” she growled, they both heaved themselves onto the log as you gently pushed yourself through the water with Asriel and Frisk to get away from the approaching dead wood as the two were rather eager to get standing as quickly as possible.

Giggling you led the two over to the shore, Toriel waving to the three of you as you all waded up through the water and lightly kicked it at each other as you went along.

 

The scientist watched with amusement at the scene, it pleased him to see his mark shining so brightly against your flesh but yet a different sensation tickled his mind. He couldn't quite place it before Alphys scuttled on down the ledge and towards the shore, shouting to Toriel who returned the greeting. Sans turned his attention to the Lich and murmured, “.. what are you doing.”

It was a statement, it pulled the monsters gaze down to the small skeleton who had a relaxed attitude but he could feel the tension building in his bones as he went on, “kidnappin' more kids.. heh, that your thing now..? instead of makin' em now you just steal em.”

The doctor brought up his hands and began to sign gently, speaking as his gaze drifted over to you and the kids splashing around in the shallow end, “Are you accusing me of theft..?”

Sans grunted at that, glancing over his shoulder at the scene that was more important than their conversation and spat out under his breath, “you knew she was with me..”

You were laughing, skipping along through the water that gave way to your shins while the kids chased after you. You were forced to pick up your feet, skirting around the two as you gently pushed waves into the children's waists while they giggled and tried to kick the water back at you though you were much too nimble for them.

_'Ballerina, you must have seen her.. dancin' in the sand..'_

 

The scientist began to speak, grabbing the skeleton's attention as he pulled his listful gaze away and to Gaster, watching his hand motions carefully, “Ah, the keyword.. 'was'.”

The Lich kept a flat expression as Sans nearly boiled at that, his eye sockets threatening to turn black while his form went rigid, “you're just goin' to get her killed..” the skeleton snapped.

“And you allowed her to get kidnapped.” 

Sans flinched as his anger rose, the doctor stayed resolute as he went on, “I see that she is still.. _tantalizingly_ alive. One of us had failed their duty..” Gaster's eyes darted down to the skeleton's canine showing grin with his brows narrowed, “and it doesn't appear to be me.”

Threateningly Sans took a step closer.

An odd itching at your skin pulled your gaze from your game with the kids and to the small cliff, you sighed heavily as the kids followed your gaze and then looked back at each other with dissatisfied expressions. You looked to the two who just nodded as you waded up onto the edge of the lake and quickly made your way along the water while they went back to the game by themselves. You kept your eyes onto the men as you began your trek but they were too far away to hear.

 

The scientist noticed your approach but didn't draw any attention to it as he kept his gaze locked with Sans as the skeleton muttered darkly, “you just don't get it do you..? that fucking article was all over the conference the past few days, the damage control we had to do to try to get it under control was insane.”

Gaster kept his face blank as you crept from the water and made your way carefully up the hill, the sun sparkling against the beads of water cascading down your form as you gently padded along a couple hundred yards out.

Sans went on hissing, oblivious, “if you would have kept your filthy mouth off of her she wouldn't be a target right now. and not only that but you kidnapped and tortured some sixteen year old kid, who the fuck does that?!”

He hummed in response lightly as you stepped up the gentle incline towards the two, still too far away to hear anything clearly but by Sans' posture you knew it wasn't good. Nothing good ever came of the two being within fifty feet of each other especially if they were alone.

“Let me guess..” the scientist thought as he wove his hands, “Does it start with a.. 'G'-?” Sans' eyes only narrowed further, “-and end with an 'aster'..? Hmnn..”

The doctor leaned down over the skeleton, his massive size not visibly effecting him but he could feel Sans' soul trembling as he murmured, “Reminds me of the noises she happens to make.. except with a lot more..  _squeal_ .”

“ _**you fuck-** _ ”

“Hey!” you announced, stepping up behind Sans as he shut his eye sockets tightly and tried to calm himself down. The scientist merely straightened back up and lightly smiled to you. Now that was _really_ suspicious. Carefully you tip toed up beside Sans, looking over to him with concern but he quickly shook it off. He opened his eyes, turned his white pupils towards you and smiled neutrally with his eyelids calmly drooped.

“I know you guys were being dicks to each other again,” you snorted, leaning on one hip as you folded your arms across your chest as you looked up to Gaster, “.. why are you here..?”

The ever slight smile on the scientist's mouth spread, he also signed so that Sans could understand him, “My dear, I am offended.”

You laughed, stepping forward to lightly slap at his arm with the back of your hand, “Surely you would get offended over something like that.”

Sans stood awkwardly and eventually even stepped back as the scientist loomed above you and spoke, “Don't call me 'Shirley'.”

“You can _not_ take my own joke,” you laughed, glancing back at Sans as he was just about to turn and walk away but you quickly grabbed onto his jacket.

“S-sorry, Sans,” you smiled softly, the scientist standing up straight and watching blankly once more as you got Sans to turn to face you. You cleared your throat and murmured sheepishly, “You got my clothes?”

Sans flicked his gaze up at Gaster, pulling a hand from his pocket and gripped onto the zipper of his jacket while he drew, “sure do..  _'LA' lady_ .”

You giggled, rolling your eyes, “You can't hold that song against me it's too good.”

Blinking you watched as the skeleton locked his eyes with yours, the scientist's magic twitching against your neck as his undamaged socket narrowed slightly. Slowly Sans pulled the zipper down, baring his rib cage to you. Your eyes fell onto the ridged texture of his scar as he pushed a hand inside of his jacket, grabbed onto something then pulled the folded up fabric of your clothes out of it along side a rolled up white towel. Gawking you started to laugh, taking the fabric from him with both hands.

“You sure do plan ahead, I hadn't even thought of how to get dry.. I'd probably take Toriel's idea,” you chuckled, glancing over to the woman who sat on the sunny rock with Alphys as they chatted. Undyne and Papyrus were still balancing on that log but by now they were trying to knock each other off kilter by shoving against the wood. Frisk and Asriel scampered through the shallow water as they chased each other, it was an overall happy scene.

While you were distracted the two men's gazes met sharply, on the outside they seemed neutral but internally their magic churned. With a shiver you held out the skimpy fabric of your cover clothes back to Gaster who quickly took them while you wrapped the towel around your shoulders, you beamed to Sans who snapped his eyes back onto you.

“Thanks, Sans,” his smile relaxed a tad as he nodded but you went on, “I don't really have hopes for you two to get along,” you confessed, pulling the fabric tightly around your biceps and chest, “but.. I appreciate you, just so you know.”

He blinked at you, the scientist remaining still as your smile broadened, “and I mean that.”

Feeling on the spot the skeleton zipped his jacket back up and shied away, placing his hand back into his pocket, “sure thing, kiddo.”

You watched him turn and vanish to only reappear alongside Toriel with his back to the both of you. Sighing you turned to Gaster who watched you step closer, you shook off your odd feelings and brightened up once more, “G.. I didn't know you owned anything else, what are you up to?”

He hummed, a slight smirk tugging at his mouth as you shivered. You gripped the towel with one hand, pinching the fabric across your chest as you took back the tiny stack of fabric from him with the other. Grinning at his lack of response you murmured, “You look good.”

His head tilted slightly to the side, blinking gently at your words as another shiver ran through your back, “Are you cold, my dear?”

Nodding you laughed, “Been standing around too much now-”

Loud splashing drew your attention over to the lake, Undyne was yelling with her victory atop the log as the ripples of the water settled around the dead wood. Papyrus burst back up out of the water, laughing as Undyne leaned backwards, the log turning beneath her feet and dropped her into the water with a second splash echoing through the little valley. The scientist came up towards you as another shiver shook your body, he gently murmured to you while Sans glanced up over his shoulder and found you nodding with a smile on your face.

 


	4. Yours Truly (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster has ended up at the lake with all of you.   
> The others aren't so sure of the Lich.. at first.

With the day winding down you sat on top of the white towel which was draped over a particularly flat, sunny rock in the reddening sun with the scientist at your back. His jacket was open though his hood was up over his head as his rough, hot flesh pressed into your exposed skin. You didn't mind leaning back against him as his legs were bent up on either sides of you, his elbows resting upon his knees. You both watched out across the calming water, the light playing across the gentle ripples of blue. Sitting in silence, the back of your head rested against his collarbones while his head loomed above yours. He was almost like a sentinel mixed with a heating pad, your clothes in a light pile beside the both of you as the trees gently rustled in the breeze.

“I-it's so.. weird..” Alphys murmured, the group flanking the two of you a few yards away as they spoke quietly with each other. Undyne drank from a water bottle beside her girlfriend as she went on, “o-one moment.. h-he does some-something te-terrible.. th-the next.. _this_..?”

Sans snorted.

Undyne pipped up gently, “do you think it's real or an act?”

Papyrus rubbed the back of his neck while they all watched the two, the monsters could see her souls vibrant light and the dark, twisting magic encapsulating it.. feeding from it. Yet she looked so at peace, as did he.

“MAYBE-,” Papyrus spoke up, setting his hands on his hip bones now fully clothed once more, “BUT IT SEEMS AS IF IT IS REAL. TRULY A BRILLIANT PUZZLE!”

Alphys nodded, looking to the ground as she faced the group and murmured, “I.. I-i watched wh-what he did to that boy.. T-though.. o-oddly.. most of t-the time he is just flat. D-doesn't speak, d-doesn't d-do an-anything but work..”

Undyne placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, “maybe he only gets that way when somebody pisses him off.”

The lizard sniffled and nodded, perking back up as Sans looked right past her at the two sitting on the rock. Toriel gently spoke up, “I am also.. really unsure of how to feel about this man. But I am starting to see a glimpse of what she sees..”

“what does it matter?” Sans growled, “that kid is gonna go straight to the media and spread the crazy tale of the royal, creepy scientist who abducted and nearly strangled him to death.”

“BUT WHAT IF HE DOESN'T?” Sans glared at his younger brother, not meaning to and quickly dropped his anger with a sigh as Asriel and Frisk pushed by the group with water bottles from the SUV. They quietly made their way over to the two of you sitting on the rock as the group watched.

“ALL I'M SAYING, SANS. IS THAT EVERYONE CAN BE A GOOD PERSON IF THEY TRY! IT SEEMS TO ME AS NOT DOING A VIOLENCE MOST OF THE TIME IS TRYING!”

“that doesn't make it okay, paps,” he muttered.

The scientist and yourself looked over to the two children as they clambered up onto the rock face, the group watching carefully. They both decided to sit right in front of you, their back to you as they gazed out across the water though the scientist's feet were right on either side of them. You turned your gaze up to the Lich, completely blowing past the groups stares as his mouth slightly twitched. A smile tugged at your lips as you faced forward again, being in the moment with your small group.

“I-i .. I think I _may_ b-believe that t-too, Papyrus,” Alphys grinned, watching a gentle breeze billow through the Lich's jacket and bared his tattered sides to the group, “h-he m-may j-just be that way because o-of.. wh-whatever happened i-in the war. B-but i-it.. i-it can't be a-an excuse.”

“right,” the skeleton murmured.

Undyne smirked as she spoke, changing the subject, “I'd like to hear the story of that big one on his chest, I bet it's awesome!”

“DIDN'T YOU GET YOUR LARGEST SCAR FROM A CAN OPENER?” Papyrus mused, the woman jerking her head to him as she grinned broadly.

“Yeah and it was awesome!” her facial fins twitched as she laughed.

Sans felt as if he were underwater, his gaze yanking away from the group on the rock as he looked to Toriel who had been silently watching them as well. Irritation was building in his bones as it didn't seem as if the gravity of the situation was settling on the others as much as it should.

“tori,” he began, pulling her gaze towards him curiously, “you and i both know what will happen if things continue the way they are..”

She slowly nodded, her eyes saddening, “I know that, Sans.. but she wont change her mind about the seal and he has already been pardoned for bringing Asriel back to us. Asgore is still deciding on what to do about that boy since it's done and over with.. I'm not sure what he will decide upon right now as it will be saved for tomorrow, he told me he needed time to think it over.”

“W-we talked to-to her like.. eleven times, s-she's pretty set on her opinions Sans.. A-asgore w-will know what t-to do though,” Alphys added in while Papyrus nodded as well.

Toriel looked back to the group as Frisk began to sign something and you responded cheerily, Asriel chuckling.

Sans didn't want to hear it but it spilled from the goat mothers lips anyhow, “I think it is best if we wait and see for now.”

“am I the only sane person here..?” he spoke, drawing the groups attention back to him as he shrugged his shoulders, “he just kidnapped some kid, stole his souls energy and then let him loose out in the park like an animal.”

Tentatively Alphys spoke up, “T-that was.. m-my idea..”

The group blinked at the lizard as she went on, “W-we needed m-more energy.. th-there wasn't en-enough to go around..” she quickly added on, “I-i didn't s-say kidnap a-anyone! B-but we couldn't j-just keep h-him locked up a-after the fact..or..y-ya know..”

Undyne spoke softly, “You guys locked that kid in an exam room..?”

“N-no! H-he.. he n-never tried t-the door.. D-doctor Gaster n-never locks t-the doors.. E-everyone i-is too af-afraid to try opening them.”

They all heard the scientist speaking, it was a low throaty noise that wavered and hissed like static on certain syllables but against it's grating and dark sounds it still pulled a fit of giggles from not only yourself but the kids sitting with you. A puff of air sounded out as the Lich snorted, he was literally baring the small group inside of his lanky form from how tall he was though it didn't seem to bother the kids at all as they went back to chatting.

Toriel smiled as she watched, Sans catching her look as he snorted and drew the groups attention, “don't be fooled, tori.”

Alphys actually jumped in, “h-he really isn't.. i-isn't that bad w-when you get u-used to how he t-talks.”

“just you know.. when he manages to get away with murder.”

“SANS,” Papyrus huffed, “MAYBE IT'S TIME TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE INSTEAD OF WHAT'S IN THE PAST.”

Undyne smiled as she patted the lanky younger brother on the back, “He did save her from that creepy dude stalking her plus he gave those fallen monsters more time in the process-”

“HE STILL IS RATHER WEIRD-”

“But Toriel is right, we should just watch and see if it's consistent,” Undyne finished. Sans' gaze trailed back to the group on the rocks, they all were transfixed on the water though his magic twinged as the scientist's white eye darted to the corner of his damaged socket and stared back at him eerily under the shadow of the dark hood draped over his face.

Alphys cleared her throat and turned inward to the group, uncomfortable by the Lich's gaze as she softly spoke, “H-he is.. j-just so ha-hard to predict..”

“I HAVE THE BEST SOLUTION FOR THAT,” Papyrus beamed, the others raising an eyebrow as he snickered, “BY NOT TRYING TO PREDICT ANYTHING!”

Sans rolled his eyes while Toriel giggled as she added, “I agree, Papyrus.”

Undyne took another drink of water before capping the bottle and smiled, “That settles it then. We wait and we see what happens, I like how he doesn't take shit from nobody.”

The woman turned towards the SUV, motioning for Alphys to follower her, “C'mon babe, I'll get you set up in the front.”

Alphys hurried on after the warrior as they set off towards the car while Sans just shook his head and also headed back, murmuring past his shoulder, “lets go home, papyrus.”

The skeleton paused, looking over to Toriel who smiled and nodded at him. Sans lazily called from over his shoulder, “you can drive.”

“SURE- ONE MOMENT BROTHER!” he snickered, easily slipping up to your group with his hands on his hips which quickly drew your groups attention as he smiled.

“SEEMS AS IF WE WILL BE LEAVING HUMAN SUN! I HOPE TODAY'S UNDERWATER/ABOVEWATER TRAINING SESSION HELPED YOU TO BECOME A BETTER WARRIOR. LIKE ME! AND UNDYNE.”

You just laughed, Gaster's mouth slightly twitching at the spastic skeleton's antics as you spoke, “Thanks Papyrus, it was the best training session I've ever had-” your grin widened as you saw his face just light up, “maybe one day I can be as great as you!”

“NYEH HEH! POSSIBLY!-”

Undyne shouted off in the distance, “Paps! Sans is about to beat you to the car! DON'T LET HIM RUIN YOUR THREE HUNDRED AND SEVEN TO ONE SCORE!”

That was all the persuading Papyrus needed, he bolted on back as the four of you exchanged partings though the scientist remained silent. The three of you snickered as you went back to your previous conversation while Toriel carefully stepped towards the group. Her approach was slow as she caught onto the conversation with the kids.

“Anyways, It's not like he's a video game character and only wears the same clothes all the time,” you giggled.

Asriel huffed, holding his water bottle idly, “Sans does.”

“Sans is lazy,” you winked, Frisk nodded with a smile over their face as you continued, “I just so happen to think G looks fetching all the time.”

The kids gave each other looks as a chuckle rumbled through the Lich's chest.

You gave a soft laugh as Toriel came up to the rock and cleared her throat, your entire group looked over once more to her as she smiled and spoke gently, “Time to go back, my children.”

The two sighed but did as their mother instructed, picking themselves up from the rock and gently hopped down from it to begin walking to the SUV. It was surprising that they didn't argue but you assumed they were just tired from the day of activity. Good, that would mean they would be much calmer tomorrow.

You spoke up to Toriel as Gaster gave her a blank look, “You guys can go on ahead, I think we will hang out a bit longer.”

She nodded but quickly looked up and towards the cars as the loud revving of an engine caught her off guard, you twisted to look around Gaster's chest and beneath his extended arm as you witnessed the sports coupe peel out across the road though Sans was in the passenger seat. You frowned, he hadn't said goodbye.

 

Papyrus wasn't a terrible driver, just a .. passionate one. Sans turned up the radio as his brother lurched them forward and onto the road, something knocking into the skeleton's thigh he turned his white pupils down to the seat. He paused, the music weaving through the air as his brother shifted through the gears. Slowly the skeleton picked up the empty juice bottle and seemed to be studying it, Papyrus was too busy watching the road to notice Sans exchange the bottle into his other hand and with a snort he tossed it out of the car. The bottle flipped, clattered and rolled into the awaiting grass as the brothers left it behind.

 

Toriel sighed lightly as you sat back down, you saw him toss the bottle but boiled it down to him being too lazy to deal with it any other way in your mind. Though laziness was no excuse for him to not say goodbye.. The scientist eyed you as you settled back down onto the rock in front of him as the woman spoke softly, noticing your expression, “It has been a long, busy day for us all. I will see you tomorrow, Sun.”

You nodded, forcing a smile as you reciprocated the parting and she meandered on back to the SUV where you could hear Undyne shouting playfully at the kids. The Lich gave a light humming noise as you set your head back against his collarbones and sighed.

“Do not let him bother you, my dear,” he cooed, dipping his jawline down against the side of your head as you murmured.

“We just used to be.. better friends. I guess I fucked all that up.”

The scientist snickered, “You believe things would have lasted..?”

You thought for a moment, looking across the water as you crossed your ankles while the SUV revved up in the background. You listened as the car drove off back towards the city, the silence creeping in on you.

“If it had been official.. maybe a few months at least.. Depending on how often we'd fight.”

“Which was often, wasn't it my dear?”

You furrowed your brow, thinking back and about to defend Sans but you began to realize that he was right. You had fought often, he slammed doors and pressed you aggressively with a hovering aura as the scientist had but Gaster's energy was much more held together and mature. The skeleton had invisible triggers which you still had to step lightly around, it seemed as if he was always dogging for a fight like some kind of internet troll and while you had the knowledge on how to deal with it.. could you really have handled it for a long period of time..?

A light caress of the Lich's fingers against your arm pulled you from your thoughts, instead you watched out across the water and listened to mother nature around you. The scientist let you have your peace, his arms slowly slipping around yours as he folded them in front of your chest. The act was comforting as he wrapped around you and watched the lake drowsily.

A few minutes passed before you spoke up, “G..?” he hummed, “did you have to hurt that kid?”

You felt him nod, you continued, “what he did was pretty scummy.. but I don't think he was the main person behind the article. I mean.. you saw how awkward he was, there's no way. Also he said  _'my friend's bro'_ like.. hell, how cliché.”

The scientist remained silent as you went on, “I just..” you sighed lightly, leaning fully back against him as your body relaxed into the warmth that pressed into your flesh, “I hope you didn't scare him too bad, G. I think seeing you as is scared him out of his mind, it wouldn't take much more than that to really.. traumatize somebody.”

Gaster remained still, your voice trailing off with the soft rustle of leaves, “I just don't want anything else bad to happen.. that kid didn't deserve his soul leeched off of like that.. it's pretty damn painful.”

“It is not my concern what that human may or may not enjoy, there is consequence for such acts,” his voice rumbled within his strong chest at your back as you listened, “it is lucky it's alive.”

“He. Dennis is a he, G.”

“..Does it truly matter, my dear?”

“Why wouldn't it..?” you murmur, tilting your head up to him as he exhaled deeply.

“It,” he strained, “is just another human. It is best I do not know their names, their faces tell enough about them.”

You gently bit into the side of your cheek taking a moment before you murmured, “and what did his face say to you..?”

The monster paused at this, you could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and marinated on your question before he finally replied, “fear.”

“Does that.. make you feel more secure? That he wont try anything else or something?”

“Mmn.. I do not particularly feel anything, my dear.”

“So..” you thought, looking down at his arms while you brought up a hand and gently traced over a thin scar running along his forearm with the side of your thumb, “you claim you don't feel anything.. but why didn't you just kill him..? Wouldn't that have been easier, like Robert..?”

The Lich blinked a few times, soaking in your words though he didn't respond. You were more observant than he realized but he had a feeling that you were asking on an emotional, on a moral ground and not that of curiosity.

You carefully continued, “I could see it in your eyes.. you really wanted to. If you didn't feel anything then.. why didn't you?”

“Are you saying you wanted me to kill them?”

“N-no,” you sighed, a soft smile tugging at your lips as you knew he was having a hard time grasping what you were saying, “If you wouldn't have felt guilty about doing it then why didn't you?”

“Guilt is not something that should weigh in on decisions,” he replied.

“Then what does..?”

“Long term effect. In war, intimidation can be more powerful than slaughter.”

“Walk softly but carry a big stick..?” you smirked.

“Indeed.”

“You know..” you lightly set your hand onto his wrist, “that kid saw me use magic.. isn't that going to be a problem too?”

The Lich hummed curiously as he remembered your words at the park, he had been a tad too focused in on his prey to really absorb that information. While he thought his head tilted slightly as you explained.

“In the park.. I felt like he was going to get away, I reached my hand out and suddenly one of your hands grabbed onto his hoodie,” the scientist listened as you lifted your other hand in demonstration, grasping your fingers at the air, “It felt.. weird. Like a tugging on my chest and neck but it was there.. I could kind of move it..?”

You scrunched your brow, trying to think as you twisted your arm and flexed your fingers, “But I didn't know why or how I was doing it either.”

Setting your hand back down in your lap the scientist hummed deeply, the vibrations burrowing into your flesh as he spoke, “Interesting..”

A series of hands summoned forth before the both of you, facing out towards the lake with relaxed poses. The Lich unwound his arms from you and set his elbows back onto his knees, murmuring, “Try.”

“I-i really don't know how to, G,” you smiled sheepishly as you glanced up at him, his eyelid was drooped with a slight smile tugging at his mouth while the shade of his hood blanketed half of his facial features. Sighing you faced forward and chose one of the hands to focus on. You thought for a moment, you had been feeling a lot of adrenaline when you pulled forth his magic.. you'd have to harness that feeling somehow.

Carefully you lifted a hand and held it straight out as you dialed in and breathed deeply, your soul flickering with concentration and while you could feel the Lich's magic tickling your skin it was nothing to the tugging that happened during the incident. You hardly noticed the scientist shift behind you as you struggled to channel your soul in the similar tugging you felt at the park, you could call it forward but it just fluctuated around within your chest as you struggled to get a grip on this ability.

The doctor suddenly snatched up your neck in his jaws with a terrifying snarl, it made you gasp and shriek while your hand curled up from the jolt of adrenaline yanking at your body. One of the hands jerked it's position to mimic your own tense digits as you glared to the scientist who had your neck but he was looking forward and not at you. Panting you sighed in aggravation and hissed as the Lich let go of your reddened flesh and watched the hand as you jabbed your elbow back into his ribs. The summoned hand moved along with yours, knocking against another as you growled.

“G, the fuck was that for?”

“Are you angry, my dear?” he teased, a smirk pulling at his mouth hard enough the edges of his fangs began to show.

“God you can be such a prick sometimes,” you huffed, waving your hand as you spoke though he continued to not look at you as the hand mirrored your movements, “you're going to scare me to death one day-” you flung your hand outwards and froze as you heard another hard clacking.

Slowly you turned forward and found the hand that you had been focused on was now awkwardly pressed into another that remained still, furrowing your brow you pulled your arm back and relaxed your fingers to which the hand followed and backed off of the other apparition. Your heart was beating wildly in your chest as you stared in awe, slowly beginning to pan your hand side to side and stretched your fingers. The hand obeyed.

The marks upon your skin were tingling deeply, his magic caressing along your soul as you laughed and played with your digits in the air to which the hand followed though as time went on it wasn't as sensitive to your motions.

“G.. What's happening right now?”

“Seems as if your soul called for help,” he replied.

“What does that even mean..?” you tried to keep the hand under your control but it was starting to lag as your heart slowed back down.

“During stress it seems as if human souls have the ability to call, I used this knowledge in order to connect with you and the child,” you nodded as he went on, becoming frustrated as your control over the hand faltered, “Since we are connected, my dear.. You pulled forth my magic.”

“Like how you draw my soul's energy..?” you sighed as you waved your hand and nothing happened, the connection was lost though the hands began to rearrange themselves as Gaster regained control and pulled the hands inward.

“Indeed.. It seems as if I may have to teach you,” you blinked as the hands kept getting closer, you pressed back into the Lich as he chuckled deeply within his chest. Their bony fingers trailed lightly over your extended legs as they came upon your thighs as he breathed against your tender neck, “now.. be a good girl and show me again..”

“G I don't even know how this happens-!” you squeaked as the hands brushed up your ticklish ribs, squirming against his chest as a puff of his hot breath beat over your shoulder.

“Only one way to learn..” he mused.

With a growl you tried to gain control over one of the hands now grabbing at you, the sensation made you jolt and kept breaking your concentration. The two pairs of hands worked together, the first two grabbing at your ribs while the other two tried to get a hold of your wiggling thighs. The scientist kept his casual posture, watching as you began to pant, snarl and occasionally laugh from the fingers tickling you.

“Argh! G! This-” you snorted, shuddering as a couple fingers poked into your side, “-is not fair!”

“Ah, my dear,” he purred, a smirk drawing his lips apart to bare his pointed teeth, “life isn't fair.”

You yipped, slapping away one of the hands that had been digging into your ribs as he continued to speak, “you will need to learn how to control this-,” with a growl you tried to focus on the hand you just made contact with, your heart racing as the hands on your thighs pushed them down against the hard surface beneath you, “-you will need to learn how to properly use my magic..”

Holding your clutched fingers towards the skeletal hand you made it pause, it's digits twitching as a twisting pulled at your skin and soul. This was quickly broken as the hand at your opposite side lurched forward and pressed it's palm tightly to your side while groping upwards, you jolted with a squeak as he continued to purr down over top of you, “otherwise it will control and use you.”

His method of teaching was like tossing a child into the deep end, sink or swim. You felt as if you were sinking. The hand shot back to your side to join the other one while the fingers on your legs slipped along to your inner thighs and gripped tightly, the tickling sensations were making you jolt and squeal as you quickly crossed your arms across your chest and gripped onto the sides of the hands on your ribs. Your fingers clutched into the holes and held onto them as they continued to harass you, trying to hold back your irritated, instinctual laughter.

In a desperate attempt you shut your eyes and tried to focus, though in your haste your soul just burst forth from your chest and sat shimmering before the both of you. The scientist tutted at you and curled a hand around the back of the yellow heart as the hands stopped their attacks and rested on your flesh neutrally. You panted, slowly opening your eyes to raise your flushed face upwards at your soul. It was a brilliant yellow and even had tiny sparks flicking off of it, the first time in a long time you'd seen it have excess substance. A black vein still clutched to it's surface but it didn't really bother you to see it.

As you gained your breath back you watched as the light shimmered against the palm of the Lich's hand as he murmured, “Too much,” he hovered his thumb over the black leech on your soul, “focus here..” he pressed the side of his thumb into the tendril and a hard shudder shot through your spine, gasping as an odd wave flowed outward and left your limbs tingling while the marks on your skin flared up.

Carefully the Lich drew your soul back towards you though he allowed you to pull it the rest of the way into your chest, taking a moment to breathe and center yourself as the hands you clutched to began their grasping along your flesh once more. Squeaking, wriggling and growling you would struggle to gain control of these summoned apparitions but the most you could do was pause a few fingers or possibly even making one or the other shudder. Frustration built in you as the minutes ticked on, Gaster silent at your back.

“G-!” you huffed, trying to pull the hands away from your sides as your focus was too shoddy to remained honed in, “T-this isn't wo-RKING!”

“You aren't focused.”

“Shit- G, I wonder why-!” you barked, jolting heavily as a hard finger poked into your sensitive side.

Without warning the hands dug into your soft body as they grabbed you and lifted you up off of the towel so that you were standing, with a hiss you attempted to twist out of their grasp but it didn't do much besides shake your balance. The hands at your thighs began to move in opposite directions. You panted as you stood, still clutching onto the holes in the hands at your sides while one apparition ducked up under your leg and the other quickly slipped down and held your ankle.

“The fuck-?!” you squeaked, tightening your core to remain balanced as your leg was ripped up off of the rocky surface. The hand at the back of your thigh lifted your leg oddly up in the air but didn't hold still, it's fingers digging into your soft flesh as you wavered. Even as you held onto the hands at your sides they swayed with your body and gave you no form of leverage, with a grunt you quickly let go and held your hands out. The muscles in your body twitching and flexing as you tried to balance, every time you would put weight onto the raised leg it would just wobble with you.

An irate snarl pulled from your lips as you were forced to stand poised in the setting sun, the scenery the last thing on your mind as you tipped and swayed awkwardly. _'Good thing I had practice with this earlier'_ , you thought bitterly.

The scientist hummed gently, “you can not balance forever, you will have to help yourself.”

You jerked to look over your shoulder, almost throwing your balance but you managed to recover and laughed dryly, “gonna just let me fall, G?”

He blinked slowly up at you, expressionless. Normally that wouldn't bother you but you just turned back around and faced the lake, swallowing before closing your eyes. If you could put a hand at your back or even in front of you to hang onto.. Taking a deep breath you told yourself this was just like some kind of yoga, you could take your time and gather yourself. Though you were dealing with a curious teacher, one who always enjoyed pushing the envelope. The strings at the side of your hips pulled gently and you gasped, tightening your closed eyes as the fabric gave way and exposed you to the air.

“G, I swear to god..” you growled.

He didn't respond. Instead you felt the string at your neck also snag and fall loose along with the one tied around your chest, not being able to move your arms as you relied on them to balance as the fabric fell and you posed totally naked on the rock. Heat flushed into your face, your breath picking up as you struggled internally to remain calm and with a trembling exhale you felt back into your mind for the sensation the scientist gave you. He was only trying to make you uncomfortable on purpose to distract you, you'd take being nude in the forest over being tickled to death. Tapping into your spine you could feel the magic along your soul twinge, your heart beat heavily as you slowly breathed in an out with the air tangling across your form.

You wasted no time, your leg starting to quiver from the effort to remain awkwardly standing on it. You flung your hand outward as a tug on your soul pulled forth a summoned hand though as you opened your eyes and grabbed for it the hand only mimicked your own and was pushed just out of reach. Gasping you were knocked off balance and began to fall forward, the hand dissipating, but the Lich's strong hands grabbed at your waist and right up beneath your thigh to straighten you back up.

Panting wildly you sighed, groaning, “I almost had it..”

The skeletal hand released your thigh as Gaster now had it held firmly, instead it grabbed onto your ankle and awkwardly stretched your leg out which only added to your discomfort as you squirmed and hopped on your one leg to get better adjusted but he didn't allow it. A hot puff of air caressed through your thighs as you tensed up, clenching your jaws tightly together as he murmured just beneath you, “Try again.”

You weren't going to argue. You knew why you were naked and you knew why he was being the way he was, his curiosity was always strong but you also would benefit greatly from learning this. A shiver ran down your spine from the breeze as you drew in another breath and closed your eyes once more, slowly you exhaled and felt into your back for that odd sensation once more. Each attempt you had made took a lot of energy out of you, though this time you were quicker about accessing this pool of magic as you carefully stretched out your arm and with a flash of your soul you summoned the hand once more just before your own.

Opening your eyes you tried to not sigh, you kept your back tight and rigid as you hissed down at him, “what do I do..? I can't make them sit still..”

You gently tried to stretch your hand out, biting at your bottom lip but the hand merely mimicked your own while a shudder shook through your legs from a hot panting at your loins, “so tense, my dear..”

“G- don't you dare-!”

He merely hummed as you struggled to keep control of the summoned hand, your muscles locking together in an attempt to get the thing to hold still but it was only that much more sensitive to your motions as you struggled to grab at it but it just would inch out of your grasp. A hot, thick and oily tendril pressed up along your soft folds and you yelped nearly falling forward but his claws dug into your thigh as he held your leg up higher.

A light moan pressed through your throat and trembled down through your body, the summoned hand also quivered in the air as your eyes dropped down your form to see a twisting, slightly transparent black tendril lapping up along you. You knew what it was. A hard shudder ran through you while your fingers angrily clutched at the air, the hole in the scientist's tongue grated up along your clit as you twitched and panted.

“G-” you strained through your heavy breath, “I will gladly sit on your face but n-not _now_.”

A squeak pulled from your throat, your eyelids fluttering as he dipped up along your wet slit. The tip of his tongue prodded up along you and caused your back to arch heavily, shaking on your one leg as you tried to remain balanced. You tried to focus on grounding yourself, attempting to ignore the doctor's teasing. As you strained a bony structure hit against your fingertips. Carefully you groped your fingers out across the hand and just when you felt you were all right to grab it the monster plunged his tongue up within your tight walls. Gasping your fingers clutched onto the bony structure but it only mirrored your hand gesture and gave you no form of support, an electrified tremor ran through you as the tongue wriggled and pressed deeper.

You were beginning to pant heavily, desperate for some other form of support to stay standing but he didn't hold back as his tongue drew out only to writhe back inward with a harsh twisting that pulled a light cry from your throat while your eyes shut tightly, “I can't- _Fucking._ Focus!”

He chuckled, the deep vibrations coursing up through you tenderly as it pulled a strained and rather loud moan from you. Without any support you wouldn't be standing much longer, your awkward position left it impossible for you to try to grab onto his shoulders so that left you with only one option. Gaster gingerly tossed his thick, slimy tongue within you and ground into just the right sweet spots that left you a quaking mess. You tried to berate him but only ended up groaning his name which he found immensely amusing.

His claws dug into your thigh as you tried to shove your weight evenly on your leg though as he moved he coaxed shudders from your walls and along your back. It was just too much, you released a squeak as your torso fell forward. Quickly you shot your hands out to catch yourself, your gut twisting, but mid-way your hands wove into large bony fingers that intertwined with your own and stopped your fall. Flushed and shivering you opened your eyes to spot to large summoned hands supporting you, at first your were disappointed but as the Lich earned a jolt from your body the bony fingers twitched and clenched tighter on you as you gripped onto them.

You let out a dry laugh which quickly devolved into a roll of your head as the victory chuckle ended with a lewd moan. Rolling your hips in the Lich's grasp as his tongue churned within you, his excess hot black spit coated and gripped to your folds as he dove back against your struggling walls. Heaving with an attempt to keep your breathing calm the hands tangled in yours began to tremble while your body tensed, a deep itching sensation making you snarl and shut your eyes tightly. Living in the moment, climbing over the edge the scientist ducked his tongue from you and gave your folds one deep lick as you squirmed and cried angrily.

“You can't do this to me-”

“You haven't earned it yet,” he chuckled, swiping over his sharp canines with his sickly sweet tongue. Your aggravation settled deeply within your chest, the skeletal hands gripping too hard onto your own until you suddenly shoved them away with a pissed off grunt. The apparitions seemed to fall apart before fading into thin air as your body wobbled but was quickly caught up in the Lich's tattered arms. Kneeling behind you he drew you carefully down against his chest, snickering as the hands on your form also disappeared. Finally you tucked your shaky legs up beneath you as you panted and angrily dug your fingertips into his forearms while your back was pressed into his hot chest. The temperature change wasn't that large, your entire body was on fire from arousal.

Whining loudly you spat over your shoulder, “I summoned one three times today and brought forth two that held me up, how is that not worth recognizing you _edge-lord?_ ”

He only got enjoyment from your frustration, drawing you up closer to him as his jaws tucked down against your own. His breath was hot against the side of your face as he murmured, “getting feisty with me.. my dear?” he brought one of his hands up to the other side of your jaw, pressing his fingers up against it to try controlling your head but with a snarl you instead bit at him. Your sudden jerky movement caught him by surprise as your teeth sunk into the dense flesh of the Lich. You could feel his knuckles and bone like structures jab against your teeth while the rest of his skin had a slight give to it.

Not only was your own energy vibrant but his was also dark and threading through your form as you both rode this excitement with one another. He genuinely began to laugh, his chest jerking against your back at the action while his breath beat against the side of your neck to ignite your markings with a deep seeded burning. His hand tugged at your mouth but you refused to let go of him, having caught one of his knuckles it made it difficult for him to try to free his hand gently.

His voice finally dropped, a deep rolling growl pressing into your back as he dipped his bared jaws against your flesh, “you can be such a bitch.”

Roughly he jerked you back into him, pressing you lower against his abdomen as he snarled against the side of your face. A gentle whimper fluttered within your throat as the Lich's magic twisted across your soul in an overbearing power, it spurred your panting to harsher levels as you ground yourself back against him. You knew he liked the sensation of flesh on flesh, it drew another deep growl from the monster as he began to push the side of his hand into your mouth and while you wanted to keep biting you soon found yourself effectively gagged and muffled.

Gaster kicked his knee outward against the rock and knocked inside of your thigh to push it open, your skin gripping to his jeans as he repeated the action with the opposite leg. While his one hand may be occupied it didn't stop the other from digging it's claws into your ribs possessively. With your legs spread you were sitting upon his strong thighs, your already sensitive folds being pressed back down into a large bulge forming within his jeans. The fabric was far from comfortable but as you squirmed it only spurred him onward, his breathing a hoarse tangle of growling as he took in the scent at the base of your neck and muttered, “you've been giving me such a hard time today..”

You let out a whimpering moan as he ground you down against him roughly, panting as he spoke, “you know the feeling, my dear.. too much-” he snarled, pressing his hips upward to grind up against your exposed sex which pulled a cry from your throat that just became muffled against his hand, “-stimulation.”

With a few more heavy grinds your eyes rolled back into your head, your eyelids fluttering as his jaws hovered above your exposed skin. His magic was heavy, his breathing was labored and you could tell he was transfixed on you though it only became all the more exciting. Grinding your jaws down into his hand harshly it was like biting onto leather, it drew another laugh from him as he slightly shook his head and pulled the both of you through the void.

The trip was extremely quick, it tugged at your soul and drained you slightly though you hardly had time to think as he dropped the both of you right in the middle of your golden bathed living room. The sunset was trickling in through the windows and spread it's glistening atmosphere atop the both of you. It seemed to disorient even him as he glanced around and while he kept his tight grip on you he couldn't help but to turn his head to notice the jumble of blankets and pillows across the floor and beneath the both of you.

“Convenient,” he snickered, you tried to let go of his hand but he only pressed it further into your mouth as you whimpered and tried to turn your head. He simply tilted his head back down against yours as your struggled. You could feel his jaws moving against your cheek as he shushed you deeply, his chest rumbling with the action as he doubled over and pressed you onto your elbows with your thighs still spread up against his waist as he pressed down against you.

His hand was forced to let go of you as he propped himself up on his elbow as well yet kept you muffled as he drove his twitching bulge right up along you, he was going to rub you raw at this pace as tears pricked at your eyes. Luckily he didn't subject you to this for long as he adjusted behind you, the soft sound of his zipper pecked at your ears before you were met with his hot, throbbing cock impatiently wedging up against your drenched slit. With a grunt he closed his eyes and thrust his hips forward, burying the head of his shaft within your trembling pussy as a cry tore at his hand.

He didn't bother to shush you a second time as you gripped into the blankets beneath you. The monster loomed above you as he worked his large shaft within your quivering, small body. Deep moans pulled from your chest as your breath beat past his hand, your tongue being pressed down with how tightly he gagged you. His magic churned along your soul, thrumming within your bones as he gave a hard thrust and growled above you. Forcing to brace yourself against the floor he rolled forward again and again, only slightly withdrawing to only gain further ground until he was buried deeply within you and pressed against your cervix painfully. He paused, panting and allowed himself to soak in the moment of your squirming, heaving and sweating form beneath him while you moaned in burning bliss.

He allowed his tongue to loll from his mouth and drag up along the side of your neck, pushing a shiver through your body as you tilted your head for him and whimpered as he began to pick up his rhythmic pace of pushing and pulling through you. His size always made your walls burn and ache, it made you tremble and cry out as he nicked your perfect spots that shocked through your spine straight into your soul. It was as if he also felt that with the same intensity, a groan pulling from his own throat and it was such a rare sound it gave you goosebumps all across your body as his deep vocals trickled along your skin.

Slowly he began to pull his hand from your mouth, his arm slightly trembling and surprised you enough that you let go and panted freely in the air as he stretched his spine forward. Simultaneously he set his hand between your shoulder blades and pushed you right into the floor with your ass still hiked up against him. Though as he lengthened your position you were forced onto your knees as he shifted and spread his own legs farther, the transition was slow and intimate as a low groan pulled from your throat. Gaster soon began to pick up where he left off, keeping himself poised above you while his newly freed arm tucked up around your stomach to keep you at the perfect angle as he thrusted.

You tried to keep a grip on your volume but it was beyond difficult, you were sensitive before this and his motions were driving you insane. In desperation you bit onto the crumbled thick blanket beneath you and moaned, almost hitching into a cry as he rammed deeply within you and not only struck your g-spot but also your cervix and sent a wave of shudders through your body. Sweat was beading down along your back as he tenderly took hold of your neck, holding you firmly yet gently in his panting jaws as he built the both of you closer and closer.

Suddenly you gasped, releasing the blanket and murmured heavily, “G.. G, s-stop-”

He hummed deeply, his sockets opening ever so slightly as his hips drove deeply within you and ground up against your ass. A building pressure making your stomach ache as you choked out a groan, he waited for you to catch your breath as you breathed, “I w-want to see you.. b-back up..”

You literally had just edged yourself but the idea that sprung onto you was too great to miss out on. A deep exhale pressed against your flesh as he released you, gently lapping at your neck and tasting your skin as his hips slowly withdrew from you with a lewd popping sound. He purred proudly in his chest as you struggled up onto your elbows and turned, he expected you to lay on your back but instead you sat up and pressed your hands into his chest and led him backwards. You met his gaze with your own hazy expression as you guided him to sit with his back pressed up against the couch and you clambered up onto him to straddle his waist.

Not wanting to miss a beat you closed to distance of your mouths and hungrily parted your jaws with him as you rolled your tongues against each other passionately, heat sweltering along your back as his hands caressed up your sides. Your jawlines ground in sync as you churned your tongues back and forth, you could feel his jeans scratching your thighs and with irritation you held your hands out on either sides of you and clutched the air while your stomach and back tightened. The scientist slightly flinched at the pinching on his jeans before they were jerked down and eventually wrangled off of him to lay in a heap on the floor, a deep hum tickled his rib cage as the hands you summoned dissolved back into the air while you placed your fingers carefully along his neck and cupped his strong muscles.

He kept a hand at your waist while the other helped you align him back up with your messy folds as you gently rocked your hips down to work his large shaft back within you. The process moved quickly but your height drop forced you to break the kiss, the monster tilting his head back as he drew his tongue along his canines and began to pant. You were also lost in bliss, wrapping an arm around him and clutching to his shoulder for leverage as you pressed down as far as you could go to his lap. He never could fully hilt you but today was the closest you had ever gotten as the pressure in your gut began to border on overwhelming as you began to ride him, your hips rocking heavily onto his lap as you moaned and pressed your lips between his collarbones and panted against his tattered skin.

His claws clutched onto your waist but allowed you to do the work for him, with a whimper pulling through your throat as he hit all those right places your tongue found itself tasting up against the front of his throat and adams apple. His claws twitched, a breath hitching in his throat as a soft, barely audible moan slipped from him you continued to rock your hips down along him. The moment whisking the both of you away as you felt his magic tangling with you, your soul sparking brightly against it the closer you became and with a squeaking draw of breath your abdomen began to tighten. Flinging your hands up you clutched onto the back of his neck and gazed up at him, sensing your desperate stares he tilted his head back down to you, his sockets barely open as his white eyes locked into yours with his jaws slightly parted to allow him to pant.

A jolt in your chest shook through your body as you stared at him, taking your breath away and hitched his own. While tears pricked at your eyes your jaw tightly clenched, a cry beginning to form in your throat as you reached your peak. His fingers suddenly grabbed onto you dominantly and rolled your hips for you as your orgasm hit and sent shock waves through your back that fizzles outward into your limbs. There was nothing to bite onto to halt your cries as he also snarled, a low possessive groan weaving along your own signals of passion as he came with you. Searing ropes of his essence smeared and filled you as he continued to grind you down along him, the sensation almost too much as your tense, agonized expression met with his fierce one.

Eventually he couldn't keep you moving, instead he locked you against him tightly with his hands weaving around to your back and pulled you against his heaving chest while his fingers hooked above your shoulders and kept you pressed into his lap. There were sparks of light in your vision and along your soul as his magic snapped along your energy, dipping your brow into his chest as a choking cry split from your throat as his hot seed dribbled out of you and effectively coated you as he always had.

Though as your climax waned it didn't quiet the trembling soaking into your thighs. Your cries soon devolved into gentle moans along your labored breathing, you tilted your head up to find him gazing down at you with his own jaws parted from the effort of filling his lungs with air. You found yourself stuck there, trapped in the bright gaze of his eyes contrasted with the harsh cracks splitting his face and the longer you two stared the more that feeling in your chest began to build and shudder. It was a feeling you have had yet to feel before, you didn't know what it was but it drew the both of you together once more as your jaws parted and tongues met tenderly. His white eyes were shimmering in the deep amber light cast across the flat through the window, the only thing existing were the both of you in this moment.

He held you against him tightly, his flesh hot against your flushed and sweaty form and even as your tongue rolled along his oily partially missing one your eyes never broke their contact. It was as if you were fixated on one another, you didn't know where you began and where he ended. You had no idea what was happening but you indulged on it.. you weren't even aware of cognitive thought as you tasted the scientist, you felt his breath slip and press along your teeth while yours beat against his black gums and passed through the hole in his tongue. You heart was thudding out of your chest, your soul matching it in brilliant flashes that sent flecks of light outward into the awaiting black magic of the Lich and even though he sapped this golden amber it didn't effect you.

You could feel the universe. You felt boundless and powerful as this deep aura permeated out from the both of you and infected the flat. This high, rapturous and magnificent, unfortunately had to come to an end. Slowly the world around you came back into your mind, first by noticing the golden and red hues striking Gaster's face and then by realizing the fabric of the couch was just along his exposed shoulder as his jacket had become disheveled. You both gently parted, heaving and absolutely smitten.

Legs shaking and body sore you remained mounted on the Lich, slipping your trembling hands up the sides of his neck to his jawline affectionately as you gently pressed forward to leave another gentle kiss on his mouth to which he purred at before you pulled away with a soft peck of your lips. The awareness of your soul and his magic began to fade away as you blinked and panted, trying to catch your breath as you stared at him and murmured, “What.. was..?”

He slowly shook his head, looking as incredulous as you were. He had felt it too.

For some reason unknown to you a light laugh broke through your throat, turning into giggles as you held onto him and he just smirked. His hand lifted up against the back of your head and pulled your face against his collarbones as you laughed, interestingly you felt his hand at your back slip up and down your body affectionately as this afterglow worked it's way out of your system. It took quite a few minutes for you to pull it together and when you did you found your eyes closed and breathing slowly against his chest, fading in and out of consciousness as he held you in the darkening living room.

With a soft huff of his chest he directed his hands down to your waist and lifted you off of him, pulling a squeak and a pained groan from your throat. He shifted down more so he was still propped up onto the couch but had a gentle incline for you to settle against as he laid you back down into his chest. You shifted your legs, laying partially on your side with your arms tucked up against your breasts as the Lich set his arm over you and carefully ran his claws along the side of your arm as he sleepily blinked across the apartment. You gently brought your hand up along the harsh scar drawn across his chest and settled your palm against the base of his neck tenderly, his breathing radiating a soft rumble into your fingertips. A silence was settling in on the both of you though you could hear some siren a distance away in the city as the world came back to focus.

“G..?” you murmured, he hummed lightly in response per usual, “whatever that was.. I liked it.”

His eyes flicked down to you, finding your eyes slightly open as you smiled across the room to the window and saw the few pin pricks of white stars beginning to glimmer in the sky.

There was a deep, stirring and unusual sensation within the scientist. It pulled at his chest and twisted it up into a ball that also twinged at his gut as he watched the girl in his arms. He had never experienced this before. It was not just power.. it was something new. The girl's soul was overflowing once more though his magic was less greedy, the fact that she could use his magic was exciting and interesting but this.. this feeling.. was more than the word alone. Was this.. mercy..? No..

Gaster leaned his head back against the couch, his eyes staring up at the corner of the ceiling on the opposite wall as he became entrenched in his thoughts. He could feel this human's heart beat.. or was it her soul..? Her eyes had caught him, for the first time in his life he had felt like prey.. he had felt rivaled. No matter how hard he thought, tried to find answers or excuses it boiled down to a final statement within him and as he crossed both arms across the frail girl his eyes relaxed. He had to protect this.

Whatever _this_ was.

A smile stained your lips, against the pain in your stomach and the burning sensation coating your thighs you felt at peace as the scientist breathed normally. His chest lightly rising and falling as you lied on top of him and soaked in the atmosphere of the quiet flat, his strong arms kept you pressed into his hardened body as your eyelids fluttered. You weren't too sure what happened either but didn't feel like questioning it, instead you just continued to.. be. Existing was good enough for this moment as you felt his magic tie into your souls energy, you felt overwhelming electricity yet all it did was settle your trembling limbs as you relaxed. Nothing else in the world mattered.

Listening to the draw and exhale of his breathing you watched the stars shimmer outside of the window while the Lich kept to himself. You hadn't known peace like this with anyone and while most would say they wouldn't wish for a moment like this to end.. you truly felt as if it never had to. You had wondered what it would be like to live with a Lich and this sensation.. this atmosphere.. was the answer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fifty pages you guys!  
> Wowza.  
> I hope it's turning out more than you all had expected from me as the plot thickens and our relationships change.   
> It was really nerve wracking for me to publish this as I literally rewrote the first chapter three times, haha err-  
> Anyways, let's get this show on the road, eh? My next bombs wont be this massive but I feel I owed it to you guys for being so lovely, patient and supportive. <3
> 
> Be sure to follow me on tumblr: allocatealoe.tumbr.com  
> There are Lich Gaster pics to be had and updates pertaining to LWAL. (HAH I love that acronym.)


	5. Handling Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Gaster and yourself have to deal with the consequences of your actions, large and small.  
> In the meantime Sans is not convinced that the scientist's behavior is genuine, even though Alphys seems to believe that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is totally ready to be uploaded to I figure i'll toss it up while I finish polishing chapter 6 and finish writing/editing chapter 7.  
> Thanks for your patience you guys!

The next morning you had showered and gotten dressed though you let your damp hair cascade over your shoulders as you sat at the counter, scrolling through your phone with a cup of coffee in your free hand. You were reading through a series of texts Jenny had flooded you with. You were smiling at the stories your friend was gushing over at work this morning, she had a lot of weird clients but this one wasn't a regular of hers. Jared had deflected this client as he took some emergency time off so Jenny offered to snatch them up but it was an awkward mess as the woman had brought a ferret into her office. You couldn't help but giggle as she told the tale of how it peeked up through the woman's purse next to her on the chair and Jenny thought it was some kind of rat at first glance, it had nearly given her a heart attack.

A soft puff of hot air slid across your shoulder as the Lich leaned down over top of you and studied what you were doing, you smirked and tilted your head to look back up at him. He wore his usual gray turtleneck and black lab coat, interestingly enough he had left this morning to only return showered and dressed. It was nice to spend the morning with him, he would normally have gone to the lab around eight o'clock. You found him looking at you more often as well though that could simply be because this was the most achy you have ever been after lying with the Lich. Your gut still felt tight and sore but you got a grasp on how to hide it well when walking around.

“Jenny is telling me about her client, Mrs. Greenskeep?” you looked back to the device as his white eyes focused in on it, “apparently she brought her pet ferret into the appointment and Jen didn't know so it just stuck it's head out of this woman's purse and she nearly died.”

You chuckled as another flood of texts came in, she was always so talkative. Gaster hummed behind you, setting a hand on your bicep as he muttered, “ferret..?”

“Oh,” you giggled, “it's like.. a type of weasel. They're like if Chip was smaller, thinner and had short legs.”

The Lich mulled your explanation over in his mind as your cat responded to hearing his name with a sharp chittering from the hall. The monster huffed gently at such an absurd image while the cat pattered on into the living room, flicking his tail. You turned from the device, blinking curiously as your lips pulled into the side of your cheek.

“Hey G.. what's up with you the past few days..?”

He met your curiosity blankly, gently removing his hand from your arm as he straightened back up.

“I mean you let that kid go.. for starters,” you murmured, swiveling around to face him and left your phone on the counter as you leaned back against it, “then you actually come to the lake dressed.. well,” you flicked your eyes over his chest as he slowly blinked, “casually. Plus it's nearly eight thirty and you're still here.”

A slight smirk tugged at his mouth as he eyed you, “Ah.. eager to be rid of me, my dear?”

Laughing you shook your head, “Nah, but I know when you're up to something.”

His smirk deepened, she was too observant, “I am simply testing alternative theories.”

“Alternative.. theories?” you tilted your head, your eyelids slightly drooping as you eyed him.

“Yes,” he purred, taking a drink of coffee as you thought.

“So basically.. you're trying to be.. nice?” you giggled, your question nearly making him sputter on his drink as he chuckled and shook his head.

“You may call it what you wish.”

“What could possibly make WD Gaster, monster-kinds most esteemed royal scientist-,” you slowly folded your legs, tilting your head to the other side curiously, “-smile so much?”

He blinked slowly, lowering his cup as his chin tilted upwards while keeping his eyes on you curiously.

You giggled and went on, “I saw how much you were smiling at the lake.. not counting today.”

“You must be mistaken, that would require emotion.”

“That's what I'm saying,” you teased but then dropped your smirking to a genuine smile, “maybe I'm just rubbing off on you, G.”

“Perhaps,” he gently shrugged, your phone blipping loudly on the counter behind you but you ignored it as you focused in on him.

“Really..?”

“Your energy the other day was quite bountiful, my dear.”

“.. Do you think that maybe I'm getting used to your wavelength so to speak..? Is that why I can access your magic better now?”

He had attempted to instruct you again this morning as you both lied in bed but all you could do is summon one hand. You were beginning to learn how to push and pull the summoned apparition but only by a few feet, Gaster luckily seemed highly placated today so he didn't force it more than that. You honestly were not even sure how you were able to summon two twice the other night. Once at the lake and then again while you two were in the living room though to be fair you hadn't really been thinking in either instances.

As he marinated on your question you continued, “I mean.. how is this supposed to work monster to monster..?”

“Rapidly,” he murmured, lowering the mug as he spoke, “usually a monster sharing a soul with another is for breeding. Long term ties will end in a struggle between the two souls until the other shatters from the stress of maintaining balance.”

“..how long do they normally last before.. ya know..?”

The Lich shrugged, “a fortnight,” your eyes widened, “though the average is a handful of days.”

Sensing your worry the man chuckled, “there is a reason Liches are rumored. Few monster types can create a seal, even fewer who can manage it correctly.”

“You've done this before..?”

“Not entirely,” he replied, “I have used these theories to splice my own soul into Sans and Papyrus, yet we are not connected. They are their own individuals unless I command otherwise, though it is best if I do not do so.”

“So.. what we have is a tie.. And the brothers are just pieces of you?”

“Exactly,” his eyes gleamed down at you as your phone began to ring. Sighing you swung back around and found Jenny calling, with a sigh and shake of your head you swiped to answer the call and picked the device up to your face. As you answered you began to laugh as Jenny was shrieking on the other end of the phone, going on a tyraid about this ferret and how pissed she was at Jared for giving her this client. The Lich gently leaned down to your free cheek, tilting his brow against your skull but as you rubbed back up against him his fingers tucked up beneath your chin.

Slowly he pulled your face away from the phone, your arm slightly falling to the side as Jenny continued to blabber on while you peered up at the eyes of the monster. You two gazed at one another before you tilted your head up as he closed the distance of your mouths, he was warm and lightly hummed before you gently broke the kiss with a soft peck of your lips and Jenny halted.

_'Oh, do not just tell me you're ignoring me for tall, dark and gruesome!'_

“I'm sorry, Jenny!” you laughed, turning back around as the Lich straightened up and turned away to take a step and disappeared into the void.

 

***

Gaster landed back in his office and immediately took pause, there were ripples of magic everywhere in the facility today. He listened intently as he felt spikes, surges and echoes of not only other monsters but voices. With a snort he then turned, dropping his mug on the desk as he waltzed by and stepped towards the machine mounted against the wall that still held that teenagers soul fragments, he studied their shapes as they began to crystalize. A spike of energy interrupted his thoughts while a deep exhale pressed through his throat, he eyed the door and lifted his hand slowly while his sockets narrowed. Something was very off.

He waved his hand above the vat, the soul pieces being flung into storage within the machine and he quickly set the device to a hibernation stage just as the door flung open and Alphys stepped in all sweaty. The soft whirring of the machine fading as it began to sleep, the woman beginning to stammer wildly.

“T-there y-you are..” she sighed, “w-we've got a p-problem.”

He met her gaze, keeping a bored expression as she motioned for him to follow. He set his hands behind his back and left the room, trailing behind her as the halls were overflowing with activity though they all made way for the Lich. He paid no mind to any of them. The girl's energy flowed through his body delicately as he heard the king projecting his voice through the main lobby demanding where he was.

Just like old times.

 

***

Jenny had you tied up on the phone for another ten minutes before you finally managed to shake her and head out of the door to Toriel's. You let yourself in with a soft knock and stepped inside to find the front room empty. Carefully you pressed further in, minding your sore body as you called, “Hey guys, I'm here!”

Strangely you looked around at the quiet flat as Asriel and Frisk meandered down the hallway towards you, all smiles. You knelt down on the floor and grinned, “Hey guys, good morning.”

“Morning,” Asriel drawled sleepily, Frisk rubbing at their eyes and nodded as Toriel stepped out from her bedroom and made her way down the hall towards the living room with a book in her hands. You straightened up as the kids hustled over to the couch and plopped down on it, you chuckled as it seems they were tired and sore from the other day. You felt their pain but hid it well as Toriel spoke.

“Good morning, my child,” you nodded to her as she went on, “I'm sorry, it seems as if we are just having a slow morning.”

The both of you glanced over to the kids on the couch, draped over the cushions as if they hadn't gotten a lick of sleep. You giggled as you spoke up, “that's okay, where's Sans..?”

“Ah, he is with Asgore at the research facility.”

Blinking you furrowed your brow and looked to her as she began to explain, “Asgore was rather upset that the human child had his soul nearly taken..”

“I wouldn't call him a child..”

“Even so.. it is.. a touchy subject. There is no news of it on the media but Asgore wanted to check on the progress of what was happening there and get an official report.”

The woman looked uncomfortable so you let it slide, though curiosity still tickled at your brain as you just simply nodded, “I understand.”

Toriel gently placed her hand on your shoulder and murmured, “I'm glad you do.”

“Want me to make you guys breakfast?” you smiled, changing the subject as the queen dropped her hand.

“Oh, you don't have to-”

“Nonesense it's no biggie.. I had a lot of coffee this morning, I need to move around,” you chuckled as she smiled and watched you enter the kitchen. Toriel wandered on over to the couch and murmured to the kids as you perused the fridge and frowned, these hellions sure did eat a lot. Looking over your shoulder to the living room you found Toriel seated on the couch with both children laying against her, the book on snails resting in her lap. You smiled fondly as you closed the fridge and made your way on over.

You placed your hands into your pockets and spoke quietly, “I'll make a quick stop at the store and come back and make something that'll wake these guys up no problem.”

She giggled lightly, nodding to you as she settled into the couch and picked her book back up to continue reading. You could tell she missed these kids after just a few days apart though they seemed to find equal comfort with their mother as they were already passed out beside her.

You exited the flat and made your way out onto the street. You were in jeans and a t-shirt, comfortable clothes for a comfortable day. As you strode along in the sunshine you couldn't help but to think back to the other night, the soreness was relentless yet it also felt good to have. Gaster's eyes had caught you off guard and sparked something within you, the way he was looking at you this morning made you believe he also firmly felt it. The closer you got to the store the more you waved it off as being a clash between his magic and your souls energy. You've felt sensations from his magic entangling within you but yet nothing of that magnitude.. Perhaps you'd bring it up to him later.

It wasn't long before you were at the store and began to peruse while thinking of what to make, there was a lot of movement for this early in the morning but you didn't mind. You felt energized and blissful as you decided to go with breakfast bagel sandwiches. As you gathered your things you hardly noticed your surroundings as you paused at the cheeses and spotted a type made from goats milk.. would that be weird? You shook your head, trying to not laugh as you grabbed some cheddar and tossed it into your basket while turning to head towards the meat section to pick up some bacon.

As you walked past a few aisles a boy in a hoodie with his back turned to you caught your attention, he was looking at the soda section and seemed unaware. You paused, your marks tingling lightly as you noticed a few holes fraying into the back of the individual's hood. You bit onto your bottom lip and shook it off, slowly walking past the aisle just as the teen looked up and behind him. Purple bruises sticking up from the thin turtleneck he wore beneath his jacket with a pair of cheap headphones stuck in his ears.

 

***

Asgore and Gaster both rivaled each other in intimidation value and although the king was wider than the Lich he wasn't nearly as eerie as the scientist was.

“Doctor,” he began, the two standing right in the middle of the lobby with Alphys and Sans off to the side as the hustle and bustle stuck strictly along the walls, “I have been filled in on what had occurred here over the past few days and I can not help but to feel unsettled by this report.”

The scientist remained silent, Alphys nervously looking over to Sans while his white eyes lazily met hers for a moment before looking back up at the two monsters. The Lich waited, unblinking and unmoving which forced the king to continue.

“I understand you are used to war, Doctor WD Gaster.. Used to extreme measures. But we are not in war any longer with humanity, it gives you no right to illegally use souls as you wish.”

He was hardly phased by the kings hypocritical words, he was used to these lectures from many years ago in the underground and he allowed the king to give them with no interruptions though oddly this seemed to only irritate Asgore. It was almost as if he was expecting some sort of apology though he would never find such things from the Lich. Gaster found it intriguing. These alternative behavioral changes from the scientist, though slight in his mind, had begun to drastically change the reactions of those around him. It was as if they were expecting him to be more complacent, more cooperative, than what he really was.

Alphys shifted uncomfortably as the seconds ticked by and the two monsters stared at one another. It was Sans who broke this tension.

“to get to the point,” the Lich flicked his white eyes into the corner of his sockets to watch as Sans slouched drowsily, “we could have a shit fest right at our doorstep if this gets out, which is a matter of when. not if.”

Asgore took it from there as the scientist looked forward once more, “what is your plan for this, Doctor? Surely you acted on behalf of Sun-,” the Lich's magic began to churn within his chest at the mention of the girl, “-I know you wouldn't do something to put her in harms way, would you?”

The skeleton could sense the scientist having to control himself to remain still, and while he was stoic on the outside Sans knew the demon lying just under the surface was stirring. Alphys stepped forward, stammering as she spoke, “t-there i-is no pr-proof of her b-being connected t-to Doctor Gaster b-besides ba-baseless sp-speculation.”

“and what if they examine that kids soul, eh?”

Alphys turned to Sans as she murmured, “h-humans d-don't.. th-they do-don't b-believe i-in souls f-for th-the most part.”

He gave her a look, not quite sure what he was hearing as she tapped her claws together and continued, “i-it's n-not i-in most h-human religions.. i-it's no-not even t-that popular in anime.”

Asgore's voice drew the woman's gaze upwards as she adjusted her glasses on her snout, “regardless of public view it doesn't change what happened here. We simply can not allow this to ever happen again. It should have never even occurred to begin with-” the king looked back to the scientist who met his gaze, “for that boy knows what he experienced at your hands, that is something you would do well to remember as it falls under your responsibility. Which is the same as being accountable for Sun's safety.”

Gaster remained silent, it always intrigued him how the king tried to use morality to suede him even though he should know better by now. Though to hear her nick name slip from the maw of the ram monster was beginning to make the scientist's skin itch. The king tried to not show his irritation from lack of response as he looked to Alphys, “where is this boy now..? It would be wise to make sure he is all right.”

She stammered sheepishly, a bead of sweat trickling down her neck, “I-i'm n-not sure..”

Sans jumped in, “whoever he is he must live around town somewhere though it must be across the highway as they haven't shown up around the apartment.”

The king nodded, “so they don't know where she lives at least.. That's good-”

“not like it would be hard to find out,” Sans drew, pulling his eyes over to the scientist who flicked his eyes over to meet the skeleton.

“That's not what we are here to discuss..” Asgore said, a sigh slipping at the end of his words as Alphys nodded and corrected the topic back on track.

“F-from wh-what D-dennis t-told me he d-doesn't e-even know her name.”

“..which proves there is more than one person in on this, and they're all targeting her,” Sans eyed the woman nervously.

 

***

 

You stood patiently in line to check out your food stuffs, you figured the smell of bacon would wake those kids up. Plus the sound of a breakfast sandwich sounded great on your sore stomach and if Sans dropped in nothing tasted better on eggs than his favorite food, ketchup. You still were a tad bitter over him not saying goodbye the other day though you tried to not think about it too much, the both of you were still trying to awkwardly patch things up and you knew he was still upset over what happened. It made you feel guilty, he hadn't had an easy life but what you shared with the scientist last night.. that was something you'd never experienced with anyone before.

The line moved pretty quickly and you were soon paying, hoping that nobody said anything to you this time. Luckily the cashier was too busy staring at your neck to speak up, it made you feel uneasy and you quickly grabbed your bags after paying and said a sheepish common parting before turning and stepping away as quickly as possible. In your haste you accidentally bumped into someone, your shoulders having hit one another making you quickly back up as your markings flared.

“S-sorry!” you stammered as you faced the person you ran into who was staring at you with wide eyes, an energy drink of some kind in his shaky hand while his hood was drawn up to shadow his face. It was the same teenager from the aisle but as you stared at each other recollected sparked in your mind and you quietly murmured.

“D-dennis..?”

The boy seemed frozen in place, you could hear the soft noise of music playing from his ear buds. You gently raised an eyebrow and reached a hand out, “are you okay..?”

The kid reeled back away from you, holding his free palm out as he stammered loudly, “s-stay the fuck away from me!”

“Whoa.. whoa.. calm down,” you murmured, glancing around to see everyone staring at the both of you. As you were distracted the boy sharply turned to run away from you but tripped over his own feet and fell onto the ground, the can bouncing across the floor to roll underneath a shelf. You were swift about crouching beside him and hovered your free hand over his figure as two other shoppers came over to help.

“Dennis?” your heart was beating in your chest as he angrily spun around and smacked your hand away. You were staring wide eyed at his panicked face, you could see purple bruises peaking up out of his sport style turtleneck which made your heart shudder. His eyebrows quickly scrunched together as he barked.

“D-don't f-fucking touch me!”

“Relax, I'm not going to hurt you-” two other men came up to the both of you and tried asking him questions as well but this only made things worse as he scrambled to get onto his feet but became tangled in his headphone cords. The men backed away while you straightened up and watched with deep concern as the teenager let out a cry and ripped the buds out of his ears as he snarled at you.

“You've got that  _thing_ to do that for you, don't you!?”

“Dennis- I-i don't-” the crowd became louder, your marks beginning to burn and your stomach felt like it was in knots with the attention you both were getting,”-I don't know w-what you're talking about,” you pressed.

You could feel Gaster's magic begin to twist against your soul but you took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, calming yourself down to not alert him as this was definitely not the place. You kept your eyes on the teen as he locked gazes with you while a gentlemen beside him spoke carefully.

“Son, are you okay..? You look like you're going to pass out-” then other voices started to filter in, raising your anxiety and his.

_'why is he looking at her like that?' 'do they know each other?' 'maybe he's just shy because she was on tv' 'I guess he heard the rumors too about the royal scientist' 'you think those are true..?'_

The teen's face began to become strained, angry tears welling in his eyes as he suddenly jerked away from you and tried to bolt but just crashed into the gentlemen at his side. He let out a cry as he stumbled, the kids headphone cords getting caught up in the entanglement and tossed the small mp3 player from his pocket. The device clattered to the floor as Dennis bolted straight for the automatic doors, the gentlemen was muttering and complaining as the other onlookers began to speak loudly to one another. 

Ignoring their words you swiftly swiped the device off of the ground and gave chase, your body protesting with it's aches but you ran through them without a second thought as you burst outside and heard yelling to your right. You spun around and jogged up to a man waving at the back of the fleeing boy with a cellphone held against the side of his face, “Dennis! Bro! Wait-!”

The teen wasn't listening as he sprinted at full force down the side walk, the crowd jumping to avoid his frantic escape. There was no way you could catch him now. Either of you. You sighed heavily as you looked up to the man, he groaned and rubbed at his face with his free hand before dropping it and spoke quickly into the phone, “I'll call you back, Jake.”

You gasped, “J-jared?”

The man turned and looked at you as he hung up the call and pocketed his cell phone with a toothy grin, “Well I'll be damned, it's Princess!”

“Don't call me that-” you tried to not glare. Jared hadn't been as much of an ass as Robert had but he still left a bad taste in your mouth, even now as he smiled down to you with his younger features and short brown hair.

You held the device out and murmured, “He dropped this.. Not sure what that was about but I guess you're his brother?”

Jared nodded with a soft smile and took the device from you, “yeah he's been wigged out lately for some reason. I think some kids at school must have bullied him or something.”

“Oh.. that's too bad,” you averted your eyes and as he took the device your hands brushed awkwardly which flared your markings angrily. You internally hissed as you kept a shy smile though as you looked back over you found Jared staring at your palm. You quickly took your hand away and blinked rapidly as he snickered.

“Didn't take you for a tattoo girl.”

You didn't feel like having a conversation with this man, he reminded you too much of Robert. Condescending. You grinned up to him and shrugged while taking a step back, “Well ya know-”

“Just a little.. weird to have one on your palm isn't it?”

“Oh, I just cut my hand on accident on a a black paint can,” you waved it off and began to back pedal, “I hope your brother feels better soon.”

As you turned you felt a hand on your shoulder, you spun back around and the man quickly removed his hand while speaking up, “Hey.. uh-?”

You blinked rapidly at Jared as he straightened up, wrapping the loose cords of the headphones around his fingers.

“How do you know my brother?” he asked, stuffing the mp3 player into his pocket cord and all.

Quickly you replied, “I don't. Anyways, nice seeing you again Jared!”

You waved lightly and spun around to quickly make your way down the sidewalk, your heart pounding in your ears as the man slowly pulled his cellphone back out from his pocket and hit the call button. He stared at the side of your neck as a gust of wind blew your hair out of the way to display a few pin pricks sticking up from your t-shirt.

As you walked, firmly placing one foot before the other  you began to relax. If it weren't for you having to practice dodging questions and being observant with Sans you wouldn't have caught that attempt at tripping you up, Jared didn't know what happened to Dennis and was purely just trying to pin it on monsters somehow. Of course he would believe in that stupid article about you, trying to connect you to anything he felt was monster related. Although, truly, you were unsettled with what happened to the teenager but at the same time you understood why Gaster reacted the way he did. He could have killed Dennis.. The boy would heal, he'd move on and if he didn't tell Jared what happened then he wanted no part in the smear campaign against you and wanted nobody else to know he had been a part of it. It was a lesson he unfortunately learned the hard way.

Everything would work out. You could even probably talk to Jenny about keeping an eye and ear out for Dennis since she worked with Jared, you'd reach out and help if you knew the teen needed it. That was all you could do at this point. Brushing off the thoughts of Dennis you couldn't help but feel a little smug about your quick and intelligent response and began to think back to the food you would be making for your little monster family. A pep in your step as you walked in the sunshine blending well with your soul.

 

As Jared watched you go the phone rang a few more times before there was an answer, the man spoke carefully as his eyes narrowed, “she definitely knows what happened.”

_'how do you know..?'_

“Princess wouldn't have scared the shit out of him,” Jared drawled.

_'Shit man, that's why he bolted..? Wild.'_

The crowd cut off his view of the girl as he spun around and began to walk in the direction of his distressed brother's path, “we stick to the plan, no matter if Dennis talks or not-” his voice dropped to a hiss, “that Ghoul is good as fuckin' dead.”

 

***

 

The scientist already knew multiple humans were involved in the article. Some sniveling brat wouldn't be behind a smear campaign, especially one so feeble. The other human.. the older one, he may have contributed but the Lich had already ridden that creature of existence in the fires of the mountain. It was always so interesting how lava reacted to organic material. A gentle nudging of the girls energy pressed against his soul as he thought, at least she was enjoying herself.

The past few minutes the doctor had no choice but to stand and watch idly as the three bickered amongst themselves, he had work to do and components to synthesize but he'd rather they all jabber on outside of his office than within it. Sans voice trailed back into the room as the discussion continued.

“how will we know if she's even safe? that kid must have been working with some hateful fucks.”

Foolish. The scientist always knew what was going on with the girl, he was always watching.

Alphys stammered nervously, “w-well.. D-doctor Gaster k-knows..”

Asgore nodded, he didn't seem uncomfortable about the mark on the surface but the scientist knew it still bothered the boss monster. Luckily they only pestered her about it and not the Lich.

The king spoke towards Alphys and Sans while Gaster kept his blank stare directly at the broad creature in front of him, “while I'm here, Alphys, would you kindly show me the monsters recovering?” the lizard nodded with a smile as the king turned his gaze towards the tired skeleton, “Sans, I feel it is best you examine the process of the new compounds being made.”

Sans clenched his fists in his jacket but nodded anyhow as Alphys began to waddle off down to the opposite hall with the king trailing behind her, the clamor of this morning had calmed down some but it left the scientist alone with the skeleton. Bored and irritated the Lich turned and strode back down the hallway, he would have teleported but this way he would get to stretch his legs. He didn't even hear Sans as the skeleton shadowed him a distance away. A peculiar deja vu prodding in the Lich's mind before it was washed away with a spark of energy from the girl. Her yellow aura was smooth like silk and cooled his temperament.

The scientist summoned a hand to open his office door at the end of the hall, nearly slamming it shut behind him. Though as he glanced up he found Sans standing there in front of the machine, peering up at it mounted against the wall. Gaster's undamaged socket twitched.

“nice piece of work,” the skeleton flicked his bony digit against the sleeping machine, noticing how there wasn't really any input settings or panels.

The scientist snorted lightly while eyeing his eldest son, his magic tremoring with irritation in his ribs.

“looks a bit dead for supposedly having bits of soul in it,” he drawled, looking up and along the device as he set his hand back into his jacket pocket. He eyed the vat, empty of the shards that were once held there.

The Lich made his way across the room to his desk, the skeleton glancing at his movements from the corner of his eye socket as the doctor opened a drawer and pulled a small stack of papers from it that were clipped together neatly. Gaster shut the drawer and strode back over the skeleton, standing a bit too close for comfort as he handed the document out and warily Sans took it. Once relieved of the papers the man began to sign, speaking in sync.

“Those documents have everything the king needs, you may go.”

The skeleton raised a brow as the doctor placed his hands behind his back once more and stared down at him. Slowly the skeleton zipped down his jacket, tucking the documents inside it unceremoniously just to bother the scientist while he spoke, “not willin' to show me your new toy, doc?”

The Lich began to narrow his socket, his mouth pulled into a hard line as the skeleton chuckled and pulled the zipper back up loudly before tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket, “seems as if you like playin' with shit that ain't yours.”

Gaster exhaled rather loudly, keeping his magic under wraps as he summoned a pair of hands and began to sign smoothly with his warbling voice filling the quiet room, “on the contrary, I only 'play' with what is mine.. would you like for me to elaborate?”

Sans' sockets narrowed, his white pupils trained on the monster before him as he continued, “Or shall I let you find out for yourself when you return to the Queen..?”

The scientist watched with a blank expression as he noticed confusion sinking into the skeleton, he simply just turned as a twitch pulled at the corner of his mouth and panned his summoned hand above the machine which suddenly set it whirring into motion. Sans stepped back and off to the side as he watched the scientist make a few hand gestures with the apparition and stirred the technology further until it fell into a quiet humming. Gaster gently brought up his true hand and wove his hand outward to the vat, pushing shards of bright blue energy into suspension behind the acrylic.

Sans noted that it was magic that ran the machine, he wondered if Alphys helped with this or she mainly just served as a floor technician. The skeleton doubted Gaster would allow her to touch his equipment but he watched carefully as he made a few more hand signs, a series of clicks erupting from the machine as the vat began to thrum violently before settling down. In unadmitted awe he watched as the pieces of the blue soul energy were fully separated, suspended and hardened into jagged, icy shards.

The Lich peered down to the skeleton, another weird twinge of memories past hitting him as he lowered his hand and dissipated the summoned one. Slipping his true hand behind his lower back once more Sans began to chuckle lightly, “this how you  _ petal _ 'd the components together for asriel?”

Ignoring the awful pun the Lich tried to not sigh, he was unsure why Sans hadn't already left.

“nah..” he continued, slyly eyeing the scientist, “fracturin' is gettin' to the  _roots_ .. the  _bare bones_ ..” 

Gaster's socket twitched as he pulled his hands up and began getting back to work, he was already behind schedule and had no time today for his sons petty games. The Lich read the machine through his magic and directed more pressure into the vat as the skeleton kept on going, “..goes  _hand in hand_ with makin' specific compounds.”

The scientist's magic sparked along his soul as he jerked his white eyes from the machine and to the skeleton. Sans had his eyelids drooped and was slouching with that neutral grin plastered over his face, he hadn't taken his eyes off of the scientist the entire time. The Lich had a feeling this monster would stick around all day if he wanted to, he couldn't allow it.

“ya know.. someone asked me once what a scientist should do if they found an annoying skeleton in their office,” Sans' grin sharpened as he caught sight of the scientist rolling his eyes to look back at the machine, his hand movements jerking as Sans drawled on with his joke, “i said not to worry. just  _barium_ .”

Oh, the Lich was close to putting the jabbering skeleton six feet under but he instead decided to work. The soothing energy from the girl numbed his itching magic and for some reason the thought of cooked meat sprang into his mind, though there was the slight, barely noticeable beating of her energy which indicated she was listening to music as always. She must be cooking. It wasn't enough of an influx to still his mounting irritation as Sans began to speak again.

“ya know-” the scientist turned his face towards the skeleton this time and abruptly cut him off, his features hardened into a glare as the Lich stared down at him. It didn't phase Sans unfortunately as he driveled on, “i find a  _glaring_ issue with your set up, doc.”

Gaster kept his gaze unwavering as the skeleton continued, “no one else can give the machine a-” he drew his hand from his pocket, his fingers balled into a soft fist as his wrist fell back and gently tapped against the metal, “ _knock_ .” 

Sans could feel the Lich becoming impatient, his magic was vast and would easily leak with enough prodding. The scientist lowered his hands as he signed slowly, his facial expression melting back into a stoic one as he spoke.

“I'm sure you would love to put your hands on my things-” the skeleton brought his hand back to his jacket but missed the pocket the first time as the two men locked eyes with each other, “unfortunately they prefer an experienced touch.”

Sans slid the hand back into his jacket, tilting his head slightly to the side as his eye sockets hardened into a slight glare, “you can't expect to direct the entire project by yourself, alphys must surely have a  _hand_ in it too.”

“She manages the ward. Now is there something you need or would you like to continue trying my patience?” the scientist jerkily signed, his magic twisting through his muscles.

“seems as if you've got plenty in stock,” the skeleton chuckled, shrugging towards the vat of bright blue shards.

Sans was purely just fucking with the scientist at this point and he knew it. Gaster had no time for such games, there was work to be done and experiments to conduct. While staying overnight had not bothered the monster he felt a strange pull back to the girl, he remembered her eyes and a looming itch at the back of his mind was nagging at him. She seemed pained from the other night and while it gave him a sense of.. pride..? He felt it was his responsibility to watch her.

The scientist tried to slow his breathing as the skeleton went on, “but ya know.. perhaps if ya show me what you're  _really_ doin' with those shards-”

The Lich's socket twitched as Sans' grin broadened, “i'll make like your favorite type of soul and  _steal_ away.” 

Slowly the monster turned to fully face the skeleton, hovering above him as he signed while speaking, “your memory is interesting, Sans. For I recall a certain-” he leaned further over top of him, casting his shadow across the monster below, “ _someone_ whom had unceremoniously taken a human soul without their regard.”

“nice try, pal. not even the same thing-”

“Your sense of morality is fleeting. It should be black or white, it should be murder or mercy-” the room felt darker as the shadow of the Lich cast over top of the skeleton, his grin wavering, “yet you brought me a human you wished would be killed, deflecting your own guilt and inability onto me.”

“you woulda killed anybody i brought-” he growled.

“Ah, a decision made for the greater good for it's all right to endanger someone you dislike simply because you dislike them, correct?” the skeleton flinched, “Yet that brilliant decision managed to end up getting her hurt, didn't it?”

Sans' sockets narrowed, his grin pulling downward as the scientist continued, “she is so sure of forgiveness.. yet that kindness allowed the human to take advantage and lash out, that mark on her palm-” a twitch pulled at his mouth as he lowered his voice to a hushed murmur, “that was you behind the blade.”

“you can't pin that on me-,” he sneered.

“Yet you 'pin' the judgment of endangerment on me whilst the only thing becoming of my actions have been rumors and sex.”

A hiss of breath rushed through the divoting canines of the skeleton, the Lich noticing he hit a trigger topic as Sans spat, “she'll realize she doesn't need you-”

“And I suppose  _you_ would be there, am I correct..? As you so threatened those weeks ago.. ?” the scientist's mouth pulled into a subtle smirk as he straightened back up, his hand motions becoming fluid once more even though his magic still boiled beneath the surface, “well.. that would be over my greasy, cracked soul.”

Sans relaxed his facial features as he grinned, “that's just a matter of time.. and i'm a very patient skeleton.”

Just as both of their eyes began to harshly glare at one another the skeleton vanished. An irate tremble of magic wove through the scientist's form as he sharply turned and exhaled loudly through his tight jaws. Threats were not new to the Lich but for some reason the insinuation of his death made his skin itch, he summoned a hand to begin rummaging around in his desk as he took a few steps forward and eyed the now cold mug of coffee. With a slight scoff he turned and looked over his shoulder at the machine, the shards of blue floating within were humming in intensity as his summoned hand brought out a bottle of scotch and dumped the remaining portion out into the mug.

Nonchalantly he reached out his true hand just as the summoned one set down the bottle and vanished as his fingers wrapped around the ceramic, lifting the mug to his jaws. His eyes narrowed at the vat as the Lich took a quick drink of the concoction, it burned his mouth in a rather clashed, cold flavor.

“Dreadful,” he muttered over the ceramic but knocked the rest of it back while the machine hummed across the room. He would continue to test his theories, Alphys was already warming up to him and it wouldn't be long until the king did as well. Let Sans play his game, let him try.. it was always more interesting to notice his behavior changes whenever the girl smelt heavily of the Lich and today would be extra special with her slight limping. He didn't need to say a retort as Sans would soon learn the punchline of his comment from earlier.

The alcohol burned through his jaws as he sighed and set the mug heavily on the desk before striding back to the machine, raising both of his hands as a numbing twinge relaxed his pent up magic. Time was running out for the fallen monsters and these interruptions had set him back far enough for one day.

 

***

 

You were leaning against the counter, laughing and eating with the small family as well as an unexpected guest. Jenny had popped into the flat a few minutes ago. She had been so flustered by not only that client but her day in general she stopped by to hang out and cool off for a bit. Asriel and Frisk were on the couch while music played from your phone, taking a bite of your egg, cheese and bacon bagel as you listened to your friend talk and wave her hand with a bagel slice in the other. Toriel had already finished her brunch and was standing to the side of you both, listening intently as she tried to not giggle at your friends story.

“So I called up Jared and was like,  _'I am never taking clients from you again-_ ” she chuckled as you took another bite, “and that jerk said to me,  _'okay, you don't have to take another client as long as you take my buddy out on a date-_ ”

You gasped, trying to not choke on your food as a laugh sputtered in your chest. Toriel's eyes went wide as she spoke, “oh my..”

While you struggled to finish chewing your eyes began to water as Jenny laughed and pressed on over the top of the faint music playing from your phone, “so I'm of course shocked and say suuper sarcastically,  _'sorry bud, you're not my type-_ ”

You managed to swallow and took in a gulp of air with a laugh as you looked back up again and caught sight of Asriel sitting on the couch with his hand poised, quacking along with Jenny's loud voice as Frisk covered their mouth and was trying so hard to not laugh out loud as the goat made over exaggerated facial expressions.

“-and he says,  _'no I got a good friend looking for a down to earth girl, I'll have him swing by to pick up some files from my office and say hi. He doesn't know I said anything so you won't feel bad about breakin' his heart._ ”

Asriel placed a hand on his chest as he continued to act out though luckily only you saw this display as Toriel was totally entrenched in the story, her left ear slightly flicking curiously as you giggled, “what did you say back..?”

“Well,” she waved her bagel idly as she gave you a sly grin, “I've been single for like.. six months. So I figured why not, though all I said was,  _'awe shucks, do you do this for all the girl's in the office?'_ and he was like..  _'nah, dollface, only for you.'_ ”

“What the fuck-” you laughed, too caught up in the moment to notice Gaster's magic teeming against your soul with the bite marks lightly itching. You were used to his reactions throughout the day and this is usually what you felt, it didn't alert you what so ever. He was always so easily bothered when others were around.

“Right!?” Jenny laughed while Toriel giggled, holding a clawed hand up to her lips as you spoke curiously.

“Are you really gonna go out with that guy..? Do you even know his name..?”

She shook her head and chuckled, “No I don't. But I figure why not at least window shop? Maybe he's got a cute butt.”

Toriel laughed a bit hard at that but you couldn't blame her as you soon were giggling wildly as well. Although mentioning Jared did flare in your mind and you hummed deeply, glancing to the counter as you turned off your music as you quickly spoke up, “Speaking of Jared I ran into him today-”

“Ugh! That jerk I knew he was just skipping out on work!” she breathed, Asriel jutting his pointer finger out condescendingly towards the coffee table just past her shoulder in the living room as you tried to quiet yourself down and fully faced your friend again.

“I uhm, went to the store to get some stuff to make breakfast right?” the two watched you, noticing the change in tone as Jenny took a bite from her bagel, “and I ran into Dennis.”

Toriel murmured, lowering her hand to clasp them together at her stomach, “was he okay..?”

“Uhm..” you flicked your gaze over to the living room, catching Asriel ease out of his mocking gestures and turn towards you curiously with Frisk peaking around him, “he looked.. tired and a bit freaked out.”

You brought your gaze up and rubbed the back of your neck as you set your half eaten sandwich on the plate nestled on the counter, “I guess he's just really still..sensitive right now. He ran out the door but dropped his music player so I tried to return it but he was long gone. I found Jared trying to wave him down, he was yellin'  _ 'Bro!' _ but I guess he didn't have any luck either..”

You smiled as you went on, “I just handed him the music player instead and went on my way, I didn't know he had a brother.. Small world, right?”

“Yeah, I'm surprised you _didn't_ know..?” Jenny blinked curiously.

“Well they never liked to talk to me, the _'Princess',_ ” you snorted, placing quotation marks in the air with your fingers.

“Oh dear..” Toriel murmured, concern sweeping her face as your friend turned to her and smiled.

“Don't worry,” she cooed, gaining the mothers attention as she spoke, “that just means Jared is being a good older brother and taking care of him.. I kind of feel a little less mad at him now.”

“Only a little?” you teased, carefully shifting onto your other hip as you leaned against the counter and folded your arms over your sore stomach. The marks on your neck itching a tad deeper as your friend giggled.

“Maybe I'll be less mad if I get to see who this guy is-” as if sensing the change in topic direction Toriel held up a finger and walked over into the family room, catching the children watching and she gave them a stern look to which they sighed and slipped off of the couch to march to their room. She followed after them down the hall, murmuring about homework that needed to be done before they were allowed out at the park.

As the kids went Jenny lowered her voice to you, whispering, “a girl can only do so much after six months-”

You tried to not laugh, you really did but it broke through anyways and with the fit of giggles shaking your shoulders the marks on your skin eased up in their itching though Jenny wasn't finished as she leaned closer and winked at you, “we all can't have our own hunky ghoul.”

You gasped, slapping the side of her arm with the back of your hand lightly as she burst into a fit of wild laughter as you rushed with a hushed voice, “Jen, oh my god I would not call him a hunk-”

She gave you a look to which you shook your head, a flush rising on your face as you murmured, “that's a word for douchy guys at the beach.”

“So what would you call it then, Sun-shine?” Jenny drawled, you felt cornered as your skin began to heat up becoming uncomfortably aware of your soreness as you tensed.

“Uh- Er-.. I mean-” you stammered, she held a sly gaze as you murmured with a timid grin, “h-he's more of a.. gentlemen..?”

“No, you're messin' with me-” Jenny smirked, pressing you further, “all he does is either stare or blink.”

You were used to boy talk with Jenny but for some reason this was really throwing you for a loop as you stammered sheepishly, the marks on your neck beginning to itch again, “no, really.. I know he seems really.. quiet but he's got this side to him..”

You found yourself turning your attention away from your friend shyly, Jenny's eyes brightening as you admitted, “I dunno.. it's really weird to explain.”

You friend giddily pressed for more, “come on spill it, girl.”

Sheepishly you met her gaze, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear as the Lich's magic began to tighten around your soul, “I guess you could say.. passionate..?” you blushed, “b-but in a.. unique way.”

“Well I figured you're into necking-”

You tried to muffle your fit of laughter behind your hands, embarrassment building as Jenny nearly cackled while Toriel stepped back into the kitchen, giggling as she murmured, “as long as he doesn't hurt you, my child.”

Jenny nodded with a laugh as you froze up, you hadn't expected her to hear any of this.. To top it all off that comment only made your embarrassment worse, your heart fluttering as your aches from last nights intimacy were still rather strong. The Lich's magic began to intensify within you as you stammered, “n-no..”

“C'mon girlie, I can tell you're limping-”

“Jen, I swear to god-” you hid your face behind your hands.

“He is like seven feet tall jesus-”

“Jen-!” you shrieked into your palms, hoping the fact that your markings were flaring were not from Gaster eavesdropping.

“Nothing wrong with it-” Toriel chuckled, a flush of her own building beneath her beautiful white coat as you dropped your hands and gaped at her as Jenny butted in.

“I mean a girl likes to get roughed up here and there but he's like massive girlie-”

“Oh my god-!” you laughed as you brought your hand back up to your lips while crossing the other against your abdomen, the squirming along your soul becoming sharper and it made you grunt ever so slightly but the two both heard it.

“You need a pain killer or somethin'?” Jenny asked sincerely, stepping forward and set her hand on your shoulder as she giggled, “you know we're just teasing.”

You took a deep breath in, slowly letting it out but the odd sensation just kept building while your bite marks began to burn, “N-no I'm fine,” you chuckled while shaking your head and wiped the blissful tears from your face before lowering your hands as Toriel turned and rummaged through the cabinet anyways.

Jenny lowered her voice to speak privately as your attention was turned to the woman's rustling around a thin shelf, “though seriously he's like..  _good?_ ”

You couldn't help but to playfully glare at your friend and mouthed, red in the face, as Toriel grabbed something and turned back around,  _'he's amazing'._

The burning and itching sensation was not ebbing as quickly as you would have liked, already feeling sensitive from being sore you didn't notice the wince drawing over your face as Jenny softened her features.

“You sure you're okay..?” Jenny murmured, dropping her teasing as Toriel shook a few pills from a bottle and set them on the counter beside you before reaching for a glass to fill it with water. You nodded lightly, trying to smile as you watched Toriel's movements just as a figure appeared off in the living room. She sat the glass down beside you and looked across the flat, smiling sweetly as Sans meandered on into the kitchen with his shoulders tense and grin strained.

“Hey Sans!” Jenny smiled, you pressed your arms into your aching stomach as you turned your gaze to him with a weak smile over your lips. The skeleton noticed your discomfort and raised a brow as his eyes bounced around the scene before landing back on you.

“heya kid, feelin' sick?” the skeleton's brows drew back together as he eyed you. You gently laughed and shook your head, unwinding your arms from your torso as you murmured.

“Nah, just a bit tired is all,” your excuse was a poor one to the women in the room but Sans seemed to actually absorb it as you gently turned to take the pills on the counter. Toriel stepped away as you snatched them up with your back to Sans and popped them into your mouth before washing them down with water, Jenny looked to the skeleton and changed the subject.

“Back from work so soon? Don't you usually leave like.. around nine?”

He gently chuckled, “hey two hours is a long time without a break.”

You had to concentrate to finish your glass of water, that's why Gaster was irritated.. those two being together for anything longer than two minutes was hard enough to deal with but an hour or more spent in the same building.. they definitely had pissed each other off again.

Toriel laughed lightly beside you as she spoke up, “how was everything?”

“'nother day in paradise, tori,” the skeleton drawled, reaching inside of his jacket to grab onto the now crumpled stack of papers and as you gently set the glass on the counter he passed the documents to Toriel who took them gently while you murmured.

“I wish you guys wouldn't fight so much.”

Jenny blinked at you while Toriel cleared her throat, “Jenny,” your friend looked up quickly to the smiling monster, “would you kindly help me check on the children while I file this away?”

Awkwardly she glanced between you and the skeleton, nodding and quickly followed the woman down the hall. It was a few moments before Sans sighed and you spoke up over the sound of doors opening and closing. You kept your back to the skeleton as you calmed your breathing, the Lich's magic ebbing off of your soul as the time ticked on.

“I don't expect you guys to really get along but do you have to push each other so much..?”

“why you really takin' pills, kid?”

Sighing you turned around to face him, wincing as you gently eased back into the counter and folded your arms once more and stated blankly, “because I'm sore from yesterday.”

The skeleton blinked then suddenly froze, remembering what Gaster had told him in the lab  _ 'on the contrary, I only 'play' with what is mine.. would you like for me to elaborate? Or shall I let you find out for yourself when you return to the Queen..?'  _

You weren't privy to the inside comment but your face softened with unease as you watched him tense up, “I'm sorry for snapping.. I'm just kind of mad at you right now, Sans.”

“for what..? standin' up for that kid he tortured-?”

“No-” you muttered with a sigh, turning your gaze to your feet as you idly crossed your ankles and softly spoke, “you didn't say goodbye yesterday..”

There was an odd silence that fell in the room as Sans watched you carefully, “.. that it?”

“What do you mean-” you nearly growled, lifting your eyes back up to him, “ _'is that it?'_ really?”

You had dodged enough fights, danced around enough conversations and chose your battles with him for the past month and this was one you weren't willing to just let go.. Not when things had felt so relaxed again.

“i'm not sure what else you want from me, kid-”

“Are you really that bitter about it that you can't even be around whenever he's within fifty feet of me?” you asked, being blunt with your words as your fingers drug into your arms, “we were having a lot of fun..” your voice dropped gently, “I thought so anyways..”

He took a step forward, his expression remaining his neutral grin, “hey. we were havin' fun.”

“Then.. why'd you take off like that..? It really bummed me out..”

He blinked to you, taking another step forward at how sedated you had become, “listen, you know we don't get along. i didn't want you gettin' upset, especially how..” his breath tightened, “he was sittin' there with ya.”

Nodding slowly you sighed, meeting his gaze as you murmured, “I guess I didn't think about that..”

“you know i'd never leave ya hangin' lady,” his grin broadened as a slight smile crossed your lips, your markings were much calmer now though it didn't really even feel as if Gaster's magic was there with how numb it had become.

“Promise..?” your smile grew as he closed the distance between you and nodded, his eyelids drooping as he murmured gently while bringing his hands out from his jacket and held them slightly open.

“promise.”

You smirked a bit, a light laugh tickling your throat as you carefully pushed off from the counter and wrapped your arms around him. He was slightly cold but it felt nice against your flushed body, you were gazing out into the living room as Sans fixated on something on the counter behind you as you murmured, “Okay.. so long as we're good, right?”

He nodded, his hand leaving your back and you took that as a signal to let go and step away though as you did you spotted that he had nabbed your half eaten sandwich. Gasping you reached for it with a laugh.

“Sans oh my god!”

He shrugged, easily dodging you as if it were nothing though you gave up quickly. Your movements jerking your stomach too much as you folded your arms and pouted at him while he simply chuckled and slowly parted his jaws. His teeth separated like melted cheese before hardening into crisp points as a blue glow emanated from his mouth, his slick transparent tongue flicking up past his teeth as his eyes locked into yours. You caught yourself staring as his eye lids drooped a bit farther, an odd sensation rising in your gut while your markings flared upon your skin. Sans merely watched your nervous face as he brought the bagel up to his jaws and with a single deep lick he took the entire thing into his skull and snapped his teeth together loudly.

You jumped a bit at the harsh clacking noise and shook your head with a laugh, “I could have just made you one you ass!”

He simply shrugged, eyeing you flirtatiously as the tingling in your stomach tightened, “nah.. _you's_ always taste better.”

“Pfff-” you rolled your eyes, rubbing your face as you giggled and pushed your hair back. The skeleton's gaze was slightly broken from yours as you unknowingly moved your hair from your neck as well, the markings on your skin seeming to radiate this dark aura as they buried within your flesh. Sans found it interesting he could annoy the scientist without even having to see his cracked face, his brows gave a flirtatious wiggle and made you laugh some more as the markings twisted with energy. Oh, this was interesting.

 


	6. "Mein Kompf"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster begins to open up more to you, allowing you a better look inside of his mind and past.

The scientist's tongue burned against the alcohol that had stained his jaws as he managed the machine, his white eyes focusing in on his work as the shards of blue began to split and separate further. He would need to splinter these fragments as much as possible to reduce them for dosage. Monster souls, especially the ones they were caring for, were weak and it was imperative they were not overloaded. While he worked a summoned hand at his side was scrawling notes and projections while another held a clipboard up for it, his magic was settled though it still paced within his form. He had allowed that skeleton to push his buttons, he would not make the same mistake again.

Just as he was easing into the rhythm of working his magic felt a flutter from the girls golden energy and it snapped him from his thoughts as he stood there. Becoming aware of the sounds of the machine and facility around him, he had never felt that sensation except for when he was with her and it deeply began to irritate him once more. Just as he was about to make a decision about checking on her his office door opened, Alphys stepping in lightly which drew a deep exhale from the Lich as she stammered to his left.

“D-doctor.. I'm g-getting bad r-readings fr-from one of t-the patients..”

He kept his composure and continued to observe the fragments before him. Lowering his hands to set them behind his back while the summoned hand beside him stalled it's motions. His dark energy coiling and churning within itself as the woman pattered up a bit closer and adjusted her glasses while reading over a clip board in her other hand.

“S-she's been a-asleep f-for n-nearly two m-months..”

He remained silent and motionless as she went on.

“W-with our s-stasis treatment i-it leveled her s-stats b-but her s-soul is dimming..”

The scientist rolled his fingers together of his right hand tucked against his back, molding a black moth as she stammered nervously, “s-she isn't re-responding t-to whatever el-else we try.. Th-the team w-wants your in-instruction.”

Alphys watched Oliver flutter from behind the Lich and towards her, she carefully held out her hand for the bug to perch upon it blissfully and drew her hand back to her clipboard as she looked up to him. His voice was raspier than usual as he muttered.

“They will die.”

“W-what?”

The scientist turned his cold gaze to the lizard, “make preparations for the dust to be boxed, sealed and sent to the family.”

“Sh-she's not dead yet!” Alphys hobbled up closer, craning her head up to the Lich, “Th-there are ways to h-help her!”

“Then why are you asking me, Doctor?” he muttered, turning his attention back to the machine as she let out a frustrated sigh and gripped tightly on her clipboard with both hands. His skeletal apparition beginning to scrawl some more as she pressed on.

“W-we on-only have s-so many r-resources! I have a theory-”

“You will find nothing else from me, Doctor Alphys.”

“I-i know th-the serum w-won't be com-complete f-for another w-week or so b-but you h-have experience... _p-please_ ,” she strained, calling his white eyes over to her from the corner of his sockets, his writing pausing once more, “w-we ca-can't give up.”

“It is best to divert your attention towards the monsters who are not phasing through the final stages of the fall,” the Lich muttered, watching her eyes widen in disbelief.

“Y-you c-can not ex-expect me t-to just g-give up on them! H-how could you s-say that?!”

The Lich knew that despite her desperate pleading it was too late for the monster. Intervention would be a worse fate than passing in their sleep. Gaster fell silent, turning his gaze back to the vat to witness another sliver break off from one of the main chunks before lightly floating a few inches away. The entire vat would have to be filled with these before he would dare move on to the next stage of crafting the full treatment, it was risky to not create a full batch in one go. The summoned hand scrawled something down quickly as he eyed the sliver of energy.

With anger in her throat the woman stepped closer to the machine as she glared up at the scientist, she was becoming too bold for his tastes, “y-you ga-gave your l-life f-for them! W-why wouldn't y-you st-stand by th-that sacrifice?!”

“Your partner's mother gave her life-” the woman flinched, freezing as he pressed on, “-I merely did what had to be done, as I am illustrating now.”

“Y-you.. y-you knew her..?”

He ignored the woman as he said his final piece while his apparition continued to write, “see to the others, log who is beginning to enter the final stage as this will not be the only death. Focus on those who fell later within the camp, we can still bring them back.”

She was speechless, though the Lich could feel her anger stemming from her soul as Oliver fluttered against the back of her hand, “y-you wa-want me t-to ig-ignore _half_ of our ward?!”

The Lich merely blinked, his expression blank as the summoned hand finished up it's sentence against the clipboard. With no response her thick tail lashed out behind her as she snarled, “w-what if S-sun wa-was one o-of those monsters!? W-would yo-you le-let her die too?!”

Gaster didn't know why it seemed everyone wanted a piece of him today, but if it's what they wanted he would comply. His magic was beginning to boil for the second time today as the moth at the back of her hand suddenly bit down into her skin to which she gave a yip to, jerking her gaze down to the black moth as it wavered it's fluffy antennae. It didn't hurt but it sure did startle the woman and as she looked back up she gasped, back pedaling to have found the scientist fully facing and leaning over the top of her as he growled.

“You are seemingly unaware of whom you are speaking with,” a reverberating inhale cracked through the Lich's throat as he hovered down closer to her, his white eyes dilated and locked onto the woman before him.

Recognizing her mistake she tried to step back again but he just followed, fixated on her as if she were prey as she stammered while bravely narrowing her eyes to him, “y-you kn-know we all wou-would be th-there, w-we would d-do ev-everything we could! Th-these fa-families w-want th-the same th-thing f-for _their_ loved ones.”

This seemingly did nothing to the Lich as his shadow cast across her, his eyes hardened and as he spoke she would catch glimpses of his black gums and teeth glistening in the low light of his massive silhouette, “Alphys.. please, continue. What do you think would save this monster.. ?” the clipboard his summoned hands had been holding clattered onto the desk behind him unceremoniously as they vanished.

She managed to firmly stay in her place, her claws shivering against the clipboard as she could begin to feel his power radiate into the room. It made her feel cold as she tried to gain control over her voice, “a-a h-half d-dose o-of st-stasis.”

The Lich tightened his jaw as he slowly pulled himself up straight, the light filtering back over her as his eyes remained locked onto the woman with the moth skittering down to her sleeve curiously.

“Let us give it a test then, shall we..?” he mused, his sudden change in emotion was startling to Alphys but she just nodded. There was the sound of a drawer opening before a summoned hand ducked around the scientist and carefully held a small bottle to her, vibrating quarter full with a bright white liquid. She nervously took it from the hand, it vanished once the bottle was tucked against her palm and she quickly turned and headed out of the room with Gaster right on her heels. As he walked he kept his hands tucked behind his back while his magic twisted through the air after him, it made the weaker minded technicians shudder and even find an excuse to duck into empty exam rooms as they walked past them. She could feel this presence looming over the top of her as she hurried her pace.

Alphys was sure to be quick about the trip across the lobby and down the opposite hall but this energy only remained, it made her hands shaky as she reached for the handle to one of the many rooms and led them both inside. The scientist let the door hang wide open as he peered down to the bed as the woman scuttled over and placed the clipboard on the table beside her. The subject was a pure white rabbit with soft features.. she was young. It didn't phase the Lich as he carefully stepped around to the other side with his back to the door as a few curious technicians stood out in the hall and glanced inside.

He didn't need to read the chart as his piercing gaze drew at the sheet covered chest of the monster, her upside down soul was almost a deep gray color and even his looming magic bearing pressure into the room caused it to beat and fade at an aching pace. It wouldn't be long now, but he let the woman continue. As Alphys prepared a half dose, staring at her hands as she worked with the moth perched at her wrist the Lich spoke deeply. His voice carrying into the hallway and made the eavesdroppers flinch with his static popping, growl.

“If she lives for another half minute, I will personally take this patient.”

Nearly slipping the needle and bottle from her hands she jolted her gaze up to him, he was stoic but she knew his magic was laying thick in the room as he watched. She only could nod and went back to paying attention to her hands. She felt relieved that she managed to get him to comply with her request, she was starting to believe in Sun's opinions of the monster. While he was large, intimidating and dark he could choose to do the right thing.. this must be one of those moments just like how he had let the teenager go. Gaster counted down the seconds, slowly blinking as the woman lifted the monsters soul forth carefully and administered the treatment. Alphys was quick to set the soul back within the girl and disposed of the used needle.

The scientist waited patiently, watching as the soul within the girl began to quiver and then shudder wildly. At the fifteen second mark the girl suddenly gasped. Alphys was startled backwards but quickly jumped up beside the bed and tried talking to the monster with a smile and tears welling in her eyes but it didn't seem as if the patient was listening, tears of joy from the woman soon turned into unbridled fear as the monster wasn't breathing out. Gaster stood patiently as the soul within her began to crack, fissures breaking up along the surface and spilled bright white light from deep within as the girl began to tremble. An attempt to escape the insurmountable pain building within her form as the influx in magic tore her asunder. Alphys tried to instruct the girl to calm down but instead a choking, fluid filled cry ruptured from the creatures throat and sent debris into the air.

Alphys claws hovered over the convulsing form of the girl, her eyes wide as sweat began to build up on the back of her neck. Fortunately the girls cries were cut off, her head rolling back as her form crumbed into a heap of dust. Her soul shattered within her chest with a bright burst of light only Gaster had seen although the sound was audible. The loud cracking echoed through the room and bounced out into the hall, making all but the Lich shudder. Alphys stood panting with her hands hovered over the deceased, the dust settling against the crisp sheets with a soft trickling that reminded one of sand.

Alphys stared at the bed. This wasn't real. This didn't just happen.. What even had happened..? It was so fast the woman was trying to pull herself together while her vision clouded and form trembled.

Tears trickled down to the floor as she brought her hands up to her face, her glasses fogging up as the scientist stated, “Twenty five seconds.”

The woman couldn't help the whimper that pulled from her throat, pushing her hands up under her glasses as she ducked her head. Her heart gave a pained thud within her chest, her arms quivering as she murmured, “w-what.. w-what just happened..?”

He was silent, observing as the woman began to break at the seams. Any sense of confidence was obliterated, it filled the scientist with an odd sensation that he couldn't quite place though he didn't bother to think on it as a shudder wracked through the woman while she quieted down. They stood in silence as murmurs began to fire up in the hallway.

“y-you knew.. yo-you knew i-it w-would kill her..”

“This monster died from falling, Doctor Alphys.”'

“Y-you l-let me-me _ki-kill_ her..” she shook her head shallowly but it evolved to a wild one as she grabbed her glasses and tore them to her face, Oliver fluttering wildly on her wrist from the motion. She snarled up at the Lich who was watching her patiently, “ _Y-you_ killed her!”

“She was already dead, Doctor,” he muttered, turning to head out of the room as the woman stood shaking with rage beside the bed. Just as she was about to shout at him he paused, glancing over his shoulder at the distressed woman as he added, “a gray soul means imminent death.”

She stood, wide eyed and heavily breathing as a shudder began to close up her throat while she turned her attention down to the pile of dust. It hadn't mattered, the girl was in the middle of dying.. and Alphys was too stubborn to accept it. She didn't fully understand if her attempts caused an early death and it continued to bounce around in her brain at full force, still trying to get a grip on what just happened. A whirlwind of emotions storming within her.

Gaster had paused, watching the woman run through facial expressions with interest. He brought her attention back to him as he muttered, “prevention is our only tactic for now. Perhaps you understand why it was important to sacrifice that human's comfort for the lives of our people.”

She swallowed dryly as she stared back up at him, a dilemma tumbling within her chest at his words. He normally didn't talk so much but as he mulled it over he found it better to continue with his theory and said his final piece, “the longest I have seen a monster fall was nine days, now you know just as much as I when it comes to our races souls.”

She took in this information, wiping at her eyes as she let her hand drop beside her still holding onto her glasses as he turned his gaze back into the hall while waltzing through the door. A type of aggressive vigor took over her form as she was overwhelmed in purpose. She had to prevent this final stage, because no matter what she tried it wouldn't be able to save them. There was a new theory in place of the desperate one. Her tears continued to flow as she attempted to gather herself.

The crowd hesitantly stepped away and let the Lich pass. He could hear Alphys beginning to direct the staff as he walked down the hallway silently. A valuable lesson had just been learned which would stick with the woman for the rest of her career, plus perhaps now he could work in peace. His magic churned within his body as the fading sounds of chaos was left far behind him.

 

***

 

You tried to help around the flat and take care of things as Toriel home schooled the kids in their room but found yourself moving slower than usual and it was caught by Jenny and Sans. All it took was a look between the skeleton and your friend before she had whisked you straight back across the hallway and into your flat, you huffed and tried to argue but she wouldn't hear it. Those pills hadn't done a thing for the aches in your body and you grunted loudly as she forced you to sit on the couch, glaring up at her you scoffed as Sans stepped gently into the flat and glanced around. The door softly clicking behind him as Chip meowed off in the bedroom.

“Jen, I'll be fine it's just like cramps,” you muttered.

“Jesus, seriously..?” she stood before you, setting her hands on her hips as you awkwardly glanced over to Sans who was watching the cat scamper down the hall over to him with a loud mew. It didn't seem as if he was listening but you still swallowed your words and gave your friend a look but it sailed over her head as she murmured down to you.

“Well tell him to ease the fuck up, I don't want my best friend broken.”

Your brows raised with your widening eyes as you quickly held up your palms, trying to settle her down as Sans sockets went black with his grin severely strained.

“Jen, the embarrassment of today is gonna kill me long before anything else does,” you hissed through your teeth as quietly as possible.

She blinked at you, glancing over to the skeleton who was just standing there with black sockets as Chip purred and rubbed up through his legs. She turned back to you and grinned sheepishly as she relaxed her stance and sighed, “well I'm going to go get you something that will actually help, just hang out for a bit-”

“You expect me to just lay here all day?” you sighed, leaning back as you pulled your legs up beside you on the cushions.

“Yes.”

You just stared at your friend as Chip meowed loudly to the skeleton who was too frazzled to move or give him any sort of attention though that didn't stop the feline from trying, Sans' cellphone went off within his jacket as the cat rubbed his face against his shin. Jenny chuckled and waved her hand casually as the skeleton slowly pulled out his hand and shook his head, his white eyes bouncing back into his skull as he answered and turned his back to the both of you as your friend spoke, “you can deal with a slow inside day. I've got one more appointment at like two o'clock and I'll come back to hang out for a bit, I'll even swing by that place you like and grab you pasta.”

You heard Sans murmuring quietly as you huffed and rested your elbow on the arm of the couch, placing your head into your supported hand, “fine.. But only for today. Don't you have that guy coming by the office though..?”

She laughed lightly and nodded, “yeah that's literally right after my appointment, meaning I can really bail if he's weird.”

You shook your head and laughed a bit, “well I hope it turns out as something good.”

She nodded with a smile as a silence fell upon the room. Sans drew the phone from his skull and hung up the call as the both of you turned and waited expectantly. Chip flicked his tail from being ignored and darted behind the couch, you could tell he was really striving for attention as he chittered loudly behind you. You gently cleared your throat and spoke up, “what's goin' on, Sans?”

He turned and glanced over his shoulder at you, breathing, “more shit i gotta deal with.”

Startled you blinked wildly while Jenny hissed, opening her mouth to badger him but he quickly vanished. She growled with irritation and spat, “what the fuck was that about?”

Sighing you pushed your legs out across the cushions and settled back into the couch as you murmured, “I guess Gaster did something else he doesn't like-”

“Dude, he always talk to you like that..?” she turned to face you, her arms crossed over her chest as she stood leaning all her weight onto one hip, “I don't care if he thinks your boyfriend is Hitler-” you flinched at how casually she threw those words around, “-that gives him no excuse to act like a dick to you.”

“Really Jen.. Hitler..?” you rolled your eyes with a laugh, deciding to only tackle one of those topics for now.

“Well Sans certainly sees him that way-”

“No he doesn't, Jen.. I know that nobody does,” you settled down into the cushions and folded your arms over your eyes as you sighed and continued, “he just won't accept that G isn't fluffy and nice or easy to read. It doesn't make him Hitler.”

Huffing your friend watched as Chip slunk out from behind the couch, flicking his tail as he rounded the furniture and looked up at you from the floor as he sat down.

Jenny smirked as she spoke, “who knows, maybe under that blank stare he's really plotting to invade Poland.”

You both broke out into snickers that evolved into full laughter, you gently removed your arms from your face and wiped at your eyes before setting your arms back down across your abdomen as you looked to Jenny with a grin, “nah, there's just a smile beneath it. Though don't tell anyone, it's top secret.”

She giggled and plopped her ass down onto the coffee table, leaning towards you a bit, “really? I just thought he physically couldn't show emotion because of.. you know-” she lifted a hand and hovered over the right side of her face, insinuating his damaged socket and the cracks within his face.

Smiling you shook your head, Chip flicking his tail against the floor as he began to dip his head and judge how he should get up on the couch with you as you spoke, “nah, he can't really open that eye very well but otherwise he can move his face just fine.. he's just not touchy feely..”

“Then why did you say he was a gentlemen..?” she cooed as your cat leapt up onto the couch, standing and purring with his tail twitching as you brought a hand down and scratched under his chin as you thought for a moment.

“He's just a smooth talker,” you chuckled as Chip settled down next to you while you stroked along his flat gray forehead, his eyes closing as he continued to purr, “plus..I dunno..” your friend watched as your features softened, “when I look at him I see.. I see his eyes and the way he stands is so confident..”

Jenny set her elbows on her knees as she leaned in towards you, lifting a hand to rest her chin in as she listened to you ramble on while you ran your fingers through Chip's smooth fur, “he calls me _'my dear'_ and there's this underlying.. feeling in my chest whenever I manage to make him laugh which is like.. like a gentle rumble, kind of like.. scoffing but it's just how he is.”

You looked up to your friend and found her staring at you dreamily, you swallowed dryly as she cooed at you. You just rolled your eyes and waved your hand at your friend, “yeah yeah, I like him okay..?”

“Even if he..is a bit scary..? I mean he did really mess up Jared's little brother..”

Gently you chewed at the inside of your cheek as you nodded and murmured, setting your hand back down on top of Chip's back, “I mean of course I don't want him to hurt anybody, Jen.. But I don't want people to hurt me or my friends either..”

“I know you like him, girlie.. But everybody's afraid of him and I think they have good reason to be-”

“I don't think things are so easily black and white..” you muttered, gently petting along the feline's back as you went on, “I'm the only one who really has seen what he is like, the neutral and the intense.. He fights back when pushed and that's why I wish Sans would just mellow out around him because it just makes things worse..”

You stared right into Jenny's eyes as you smiled gently, “he's a little damaged, scuffed up and rough around the edges.. But I know that if everyone else would just.. _learn_ how he works, not expect him to be so warm all the time then maybe the tension would settle down. He can't help who he is.”

Turning your attention back down to Chip you lightly patted his back, earning a chitter from the feline happily as you nearly whispered, “he's lived through.. horrendous things.”

Flashes of the gray door struck your mind. That black, contorted and pained looking figure entering your mind as you flinched involuntarily while hearing those sickly wet popping and snapping noises from the body he had been trapped in for so many years.. for what had been an eternity to the scientist. Yet he had enough resolve to not kill you, Asriel.. or your friends back home.. to not be consumed by anger, unlike Sans.

“He's just more strict about his methods.. because learning the hard way is sometimes the only way others will understand.”

 

***

Alphys was having a hard day, the black moth Oliver had hung around on her lab coat as she scrambled throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Admittedly she had learned from the scientist's unusual and almost cruel method of making his point but it stuck with her, even as Sans returned to take her home from the quiet facility she asked for him to wait a moment in the lobby. There was something at the back of her mind, nagging her that she couldn't just ignore. She carefully padded down the lonely hallway to the Lich's office as she thought, her body was exhausted and her eyes stung but she still had the courage to knock before pushing the door open and stepped inside. She kept her gaze cast down as she turned and pressed the door closed carefully with a soft click that echoed through the room, sighing she gently stepped back around to press into the room as she looked up to find the scientist lightly plucking away at the machine. A soft clattering noise breaking through the air as another shard split in half with a soft burst of blue light.

He kept his attention on his work as the woman carefully padded up to the machine and looked up at it, her eyes were red as she gazed at the shards hovering behind the acrylic vat. They stood in a comfortable silence, the Lich didn't quite understand what she wanted as the only other creature to behave this way had been the girl. He continued to instruct the magic within the device, earning a few more splitting fissures from the larger shards as she timidly spoke up beside him.

“T-two others d-didn't make it today..”

Gaster knew. He felt their souls shatter while his moth had been resting on the woman as she went about desperately trying to stop the inevitable, he tried to warn her to not concern herself but for some reason she insisted. He felt no form of reaction from her determination, too ingrained in his own studies to be bothered.

“..I-i th-thought w-we were onto s-something.. I r-really thought.. we c-could save th-them all.”

The Lich was silent as his hands paused, his trained eyes studying the fissures as a pair of summoned hands began to scrawl against a clipboard on the other side of him just as they had earlier.

“W-was it b-because I f-failed..?” she murmured, her eyes focused on the blue light of the tank while the scientist gently continued to work, “w-was I n-not ca-careful enough..?”

Gaster lowered his true hands and tucked them behind his back as the summoned hands beside him paused, floating effortlessly as she went on, “I t-thought.. a-after th-the determination ex-experiments.. t-that I learned en-enough f-from my mistakes.. n-nobody else w-would get h-hurt because of me.”

The Lich slowly took in a breath as he listened to her soft voice, his eyes still trained on the deepening fissures of the shards as she adjusted her lab coat across her shoulders while thinking out loud, “I t-tried.. b-but my best i-isn't good enough. Y-you said th-that the l-longest stasis t-term you've seen was m-merely n-nine days.. y-yet our team m-managed t-to h-hit ov-over two m-months.”

His white eyes slowly panned to the side of his eye sockets as he watched the woman turn her attention to him as well, she was hunched more than usual with her tail nearly dragging against the floor, “I-i.. I d-don't w-want to j-just give 'my best'.. I w-want to right the wr-wrongs done to them.. i-in the way I n-never could for the monsters th-that turned during the d-determination experiments. I-i owe th-the world b-better.. I-i owe th-them a _real_ royal scientist.”

Her voice was beginning to crack as she opened up to the Lich, he wasn't phased by her emotional display and remained silent as she lightly shivered while folding her arms across her chest, “I-i.. I w-want to be a part of y-your project, D-doctor.. I-i d-don't want to take a back seat anymore.”

 

Sans had followed Alphys to the door, he stood leaned against the wall as he closed his eyes and listened to the conversation inside though he had only heard the woman's gentle stammering inflections. It was hard to make out exact words but he continued to process the mumbling anyways. He felt a stirring within his bones, after all this time he knew she never really forgave herself for the amalgamates, for Flowey. This was her shot at rekindling that spirit that nearly was snuffed out in the underground before Frisk came along. He knew Gaster would deny her, yet he listened anyways.

 

“T-two h-heads are b-better than one,” the scientist found it interesting she was already pitching him the idea yet his face remained blank as she lifted her head in an attempt to appear confident and able, “I-i c-can use m-magic a l-little b-but en-engineering i-is my sp-specialty. W-with s-some upgrades w-we c-could even attempt t-to stasis gray s-souls i-in separate vats-”

“The fallen, ordinary monster souls would not survive, Doctor Alphys,” he replied, turning his gaze back to the machine, “I thought you had learned this.”

“Y-yes b-but I w-won't g-give up..” she swallowed as her voice strengthened, Oliver lightly flicking his antennae on her shoulder, “o-on them.. n-nor myself.”

He was silent for a few moments, a deep breath passing through his jaws as he flicked his gaze to her once more. She took that as a sign to continue, “I-i feel w-we could po-possibly have the serum synthesized an-and administered by n-next week. M-my team w-will do f-fine without m-me h-hovering an-anyways..”

Chewing on her words in his mind he slowly opened his jaws as he murmured, “you wish to be my protege?”

She blinked at him but nodded. It took a few moments but a light tug pulled at the corner of his mouth, he wondered if this would have ever occurred if he had killed that human.. the thought shook off as he turned to face her.

He watched as she seemed to nervously shiver, Oliver lightly stepping onto the collar of her white lab coat as he spoke, “I will give you a task, if you succeed I will agree.”

She tried to contain a smile as she nodded once more, watching as he raised a hand up towards the vat which responded with a deep hum that reverberated across the room and opened the eyes of the eavesdropping skeleton just outside. Alphys watched as one of the smaller shards was pulled from the acrylic, phasing straight through it and into his awaiting claws as he gently folded his knuckled digits around it and held the energy against the uppermost part of his palm. He brought his hand down and forward while lightly leaning over towards her, she tentatively stepped up as his hand opened up and revealed the shard floating above his hand.

“Reform this shard into it's original shape and I will teach you.”

Hesitantly she reached out and took the shard into her hand, it thrummed wildly against her skin as she brought it back to her while he straightened up and tucked his hand behind his back. Her heart was thudding in her chest as she stared at her closed hand before looking up at the Lich but she simply smiled and nodded.

“B-by t-the e-end of th-the week y-you'll ha-have a new assistant.”

A light breath of air puffed from the mans chest as she turned around and hurried out the door, Oliver fluttering up from her coat and making it's way back to the scientist as he watched her open the door and scurry out into the hall.

Interesting. She put her own time frame on the project.. he turned back to the machine as he readied some automatic commands to take place during the night, the moth landing on his shoulder and flicked it's wings before melting down into his form.

 

Alphys didn't even notice Sans until he teleported right up beside her, strolling down the hall and made her jump with a light yip. He just chuckled as she sighed and fixed her glasses on the bridge of her nose shakily, the other hand still clutching the shard close to her chest. The skeleton took notice of it and eyed her curiously.

“you steal somethin'..?”

She nervously laughed and shook her head, “n-no.. j-just have an-another project t-to do.”

Alphys began to walk back to the lobby and Sans took pause, glancing back down the hall at the Lich's door before turning his back to it and walked after the woman as she spoke up, “I-i c-can't l-let an-anyone e-else die.. I-i ha-have to do all I can..”

The skeleton studied the back of the woman as she stepped with confidence, despite the deaths that happened today she had a vitality taking over her exhausted body. Perhaps Undyne was really starting to rub off of on her.

“annd what does that mean..?” he drawled.

“I-i'm going to be his apprentice..” something struck Sans right against his soul, stopping him in his tracks as the woman in front of him kept going, “r-right a-after I synthesis t-this shard o-of energy to p-prove my-myself.”

The nostalgia was dizzying.. a flash of his youth springing in his mind, _'wasted potential..',_ he quickly shoved the memories deep down inside of him as his eyelids drooped further. Watching the woman continue to reach the end of the hall without him as she said firmly, “I-i'm going to believe in myself again. I can do good, Sans.. I know I can.”

 

***

 

Sprawled on the couch as the sun set with a heating pad across your stomach you felt like an absolute bag of trash, yet it was so comfortable to be a giant bag of trash. Jenny had brought you snacks, pasta, drinks and even a bag of candy before she went to go on a date with that dude. You found it funny how she was totally planning on running but she apparently said he was smooth and you couldn't deny that a silver tongue was easy to escape from. She normally would text you throughout most of her dates but she hadn't really today. It was all right with you though, she deserved to have some fun.

A soft lavender scent carried up and away from the heat pack while Chip nestled beside you to absorb the warmth as some new show had arrived on your streaming network and you had literally started marathoning it for the past few hours. Toriel, Frisk and Asriel stopped by for a short time before they headed out to have dinner with the others. They had asked you if you wanted to join but you had already eaten and didn't mind to just be a layabout besides you had a feeling Gaster would be coming back tonight and felt like being a lounge artist against the massive monster whose body heat could surely relax your aches.

Your thoughts drifted away as you popped a gummy bear into your mouth and became entrenched in the episode, your eyes widening as you jerked a hand out and complained to your cat, “did you just see that shit, Chip?! She's totally gonna have his baby-! What the helllll, why wouldn't you be careful!?”

Ugh, blast these shows. You never one to just stop at one episode and soon, just as the next one was about to play, the nefarious ' _are you still watching?'_ button popped up on the screen. With a dramatic groan you reached your hand out lazily to the table, glaring at how far out of reach the remote was. Looking down you saw Chip purring and cuddled up against your sore stomach, deep in sleep as your hand lightly waved in the air while sighing. An idea sparked in your mind as you focused on the remote, a smirk pulling at your lips as you tightened your back and abs to summon a bony hand. It took a few tries but you managed to direct the hand, snatch up the remote and bring it on over to you where the hand dropped it in your awaiting palm.

With a smile of satisfaction you waved the hand away, it disappeared quickly as you hit the accept button and nestled the remote next to you in the cushions as you settled back in and hummed along to the opening theme. Well into the next episode you munched on another gummy bear and were drawn from the screen as you heard a soft chuckle out by the kitchen. Glancing over you smiled broadly, the room was dark yet the eyes of the scientist gleamed out towards you as he gently stepped forward and trailed his gaze over your sprawled form.

“My dear.. what are you doing..?”

You giggled, “being a potato.”

He raised a brow as he looked over to the screen and then back at you, the scent of lavender had filled the room and you could tell he was confused by it as he slipped out of his lab coat.

“Jenny made me sit the day out and everyone else went out for dinner, I figured I'd just chill and wait for you,” you shrugged as you watched him gently toss the coat on the back of the couch while peering down at you.

Carefully you sat up as he strode along the edge of the couch and sat where you had been laying, you propped up along his side underneath his arm rather quickly which made his claws twitch though he simmered down with a deep huff pressing through his jaws. He was extremely warm and smelt better than the lavender in your mind as you set your head against his chest, shifting your hips to lay more on your side as he draped his arm around you with his claws resting at your waist. You turned down the volume as you sighed gently and turned your head over more towards him, setting the remote beside Chip at your hip.

“How you feelin', G.. ?”

He hummed gently as he studied the screen with an odd expression, he didn't understand much about human culture including these odd digital shows. You dug around in the small bag beside you and popped another candy into your mouth as you giggled, noticing his apprehension and pointed to the screen as you turned your attention back to the program.

“So her.. yeah that blonde girl.. ? She's in prison because she got framed by this guy for like.. money trafficking and stuff.”

The Lich cast his eyes down to you as you lightly chewed, fixated on the screen as you smiled and went on, “annd.. wait for it.. yeah that girl,” you gestured lightly, “the black haired one, they're totally in love. Like.. lesbians everywhere it's great.”

A light smirk tugged at the mans mouth as you held a gummy bear between your fingers and dipped your head back against him, watching the screen as you swallowed before speaking back up, “it's really sad though too because all these women have these crazy problems or are victims of circumstance yet still ended up in jail, it's a really good show. I guess it's based off of a book that was written about real events the author experienced..? I'd have to research it more but you get the gist.”

Popping the candy into your mouth you chewed gently on it, glancing up at him as you caught him staring. Quickly you scrunched your eyebrows and smirked at him, taking your time to chew and swallow the piece of fruity candy before speaking, “..what?”

He merely kept staring at you, a slight smile over his mouth as you chuckled and looked down at the bag rummaging around for your favorite color which was a hard task to do in the dark but you managed to find it and lifted it carefully as you turned more in his grasp to see him better. Chip didn't like your movements as he lifted his head and chittered with annoyance while you simply grinned up to the Lich, “wanna try one..? They're not licorice flavored or anything gross like that.”

It took him a moment but he raised his free hand, just as his claws were inches away you giggled and quickly tucked the piece of candy inbetween your teeth. Lowering your eyelids at him with a flirtatious stare you bared the piece of gelatin at him and waited patiently, observing as his smirk deepened with his claws still reaching out to you. A soft shiver slipped down your spine as his fingertips brushed along your jawline and down your neck as he leaned down towards you, his breath lightly caressing your face as he hovered there and locked his eyes with yours.

A fluttering in your chest reflected in your eyelids as you gazed up at him through your eyelashes, the white pupils of his eyes staring back as his jaws gently began to part. You held yourself still, baiting him to come closer ever so slowly as your soul began to shimmer with excitement. He took his time, another puff of his hot breath passed over your lips before he finally met you. Keeping your eyes locked on one another you quickly flipped the piece of candy into your mouth, forcing him to give chase though that only excited the marks upon your skin as they began to tingle along your flesh.

He tasted heavily of alcohol but that was normal, his tongue rolled deeply along yours as a soft sigh pressed through your throat and into the game of cat and mouse. The Lich merely toyed with you, the candy being hugged between your twisting motions before he decided to tuck it back into his jaws. Giving chase you caught the brightly colored piece suddenly and couldn't help but to giggle which broke the kiss, the bear still sitting behind your teeth as you realized it must have slipped through the hole in his tongue. His eyelids drooped, a deep smirk pressing into his features as you murmured against his mouth.

“Smooth move, sinner.”

With a hum he carefully met your lips once more, a shiver running down your spine as his chest reverberated with a deep purr that sparked along your markings and soul while his tongue gingerly pressed past your teeth. A smile pulled at your mouth as you gave the candy over to him and followed him into his own jaws, nuzzling and slipping your tongue along his with the flavor of the candy soaking up between the both of you before you carefully withdrew and broke the kiss with a light peck of your lips.

A soft huff left the Lich as he leaned back and chewed while slowly blinking to you, your smile only growing as you realized he was grinning as well.

“Soo..?” you purred teasingly, the TV humming with noise in the background and cast a blueish tint over the both of you.

“Dreadful,” he muttered before swallowing, causing you to giggle and shake your head as he pulled you up against his side and kicked his shoes off under the coffee table before turning to lean in the corner of the couch. You quickly gathered what he wanted and set the bag of candy and remote onto the floor as he shifted slightly. He gently nestled you up onto his chest, pinning your side between his broad body and the back of the couch as he pulled his legs up onto the cushions and effectively evicted the cat as he stretched them out along you. He was too large to spoon with on your small furniture but this wasn't half bad as you lay nestled in the crook of his arm while wrapping a leg around his, stretching a hand out over his chest while his body heat pressed up into your tender form. The pressure from the heating pad against your gut wasn't bad enough to put forth the effort to move it.

“Hey, G?”

He huffed, his chest dropping under the exhale beneath you as you laid your head to rest on his collarbone padded by his neck turtleneck as you continued, “how's work going..? You don't really talk about it very much.”

The Lich was swiping his tongue around in his mouth as if to rid of the artificial flavoring coating his jaws with a sticky residue as he murmured above you, his chest reverberating with his voice, “there is nothing worth mentioning, my dear.”

“Well.. I know Sans and Asgore were there today, isn't that something you'd like to talk about..?”

Blinking the Lich glanced across the darkened room while you focused in on the TV but weren't really paying much attention to the episode anymore as he replied, “is there a reason I should..?”

You lightly laughed, he didn't understand what was funny as his white eyes flicked down to you as you took in a breath and let it out with your words, “well I know you and Sans went at it again, I just figured you'd want to .. ya know.. vent about it..?”

He thought silently, intrigue caressing his mind as your fingers gently traced down the lines in his sweater. After a few minutes you figured he wasn't really understanding your question so instead you began to chuckle and softly said, ”Jenny says she believes that Sans likens you to be Hitler.”

His socket narrowed in an odd confusion, she always knew how to perplex him as he blinked. He was briefly caught up in human history though the name didn't really click with him until a few moments had passed and a gentle push of air escaped his maw as he smirked, “ah.. I do not remember committing genocide nor invading territories.”

Giggling you teased, “you technically invaded my soul..”

“My dear.. I did not know your soul was named Poland.”

You couldn't help but to laugh out loud, a soft chuckle pushing through his broad chest as his fingers curled around your hip. He waited for you to settle down before he spoke once more, “Sans' distaste for me stems from childhood for the things I was not capable of giving.”

“What was he like..?” you settled further into him as your hand lay flat against his chest and snaked up to his shoulder where you let it rest as he hummed gently.

“What do you mean, my dear..?”

“I don't know.. like.. I guess it's just hard imagining him as a baby or a toddler or something..”

“Mnn,” he blinked slowly, staring off at the far wall as he reached deep inside to delve through his memories, “as you know I never intended on creating sentient life. The fragments of my soul, of my magic, were to be used as a source of power and stability. I imagined the small stature of Sans to be that of the magic developing though I did not expect him to wake.”

Quietly you listened, his voice tickling through his chest as he went on, “curiosity led my better judgment astray, once he was out of the machine I realized my mistake.. Although I tried to continue with the original plan in mind and while he was but a small child he was inquisitive.. he displayed a talent for magic and underwent determination treatments without an issue.”

As the Lich told his tale from memory you found yourself visualizing his words, your smile falling as he continued, “naturally children seek to be nurtured from whomever they imprint upon as their parent. I am not his Father, he is my clone, yet he would grow agitated from my cold nature. I did not think much of it, managing the Core and continuing this project with this skeletal monster were the only imperatives at the forefront of my mind.”

You swallowed dryly, blinking your eyes at this story.. he did not realize it was a sad one and you weren't sure how to feel about it as he spoke, “I trained Sans as much as I could, he had so much potential and by the time he was an early adolescent it was as if he had given up. I was unsure how to proceed, in my mind I had failed so I did what any scientist would do.. I tried again. Papyrus did not have the physical abnormalities of his predecessor and while his mind possessed the drive Sans lacked he did not have the wary, logical nature to make him a warrior.”

His claws lightly twitched against your side as he carried on, “he was a very.. needy child. He seemed to crave physical affection, affirmation and preferred to call me parental titles that I had given up on trying to correct, though his nature was.. interesting.”

He took a breath before finishing up, “though it was still my responsibility to train him, I would not allow him to be unprepared for the outside world. Sans' observant nature made him paranoid of my motives, he did not see a reflection of the social dynamics around him such as the King and Queen with their children. This fermented within him enough to sabotage one of my projects, effectively drawing me from the time line as you know.. the rest seems to have already been said, has it not?”

You gently nodded, you knew this monster did not feel emotion. He was logical and based his decisions off of that.. he did not realize the feelings of the two brothers, he did not even recognize his own feelings of being betrayed, abandoned or even unloved. He had been incapable of seeing the brothers as anything more than just.. monsters, he didn't even correlate them as being offspring and regarded his care of them as just being a responsibility he had. It just.. was what it was to him, there was no point in trying to bring this conversation further and honestly.. you don't feel that you could continue the discussion anyways.

Gently you spoke up, “if you don't like affection why are you laying here with me..?”

He chuckled lightly, “my dear, physical bonds are enjoyable..” though as he said this he began to reflect on it. The sensations within him the other night were powerful and more than just a rush of intimacy, he still wasn't sure what the experience was but he found himself recognizing he had become more physical with the girl and it had even built to where being with her in the room was enough to satisfy this craving within him. He lightly added on,“I suppose I do not know why that is.”

It was clear he was experienced sexually, meaning he could feel physically and enjoyed the stimulus of intimacy although this bond between the both of you was equally alluding him as it did you. Sure you had liked guys in the past, it was nice to be affectionate but you didn't just want attention.. you wanted to give it and didn't expect anything in return. To know you made him smile, breaking his blank slate.. that was enough to know that for a split second he was feeling something other than a remote emptiness.

“Well..” you spoke gently, pulling your palm back down his chest which caused him to stir and look down to your action as you brought the hand above his sternum, “explain how you feel.”

This was intriguing, perhaps more so than the ability the girl had to summon his magic. He attempted to observe the moment, gathering an answer as he murmured, “at ease.”

“I have a feeling you are always like that when you're not irritated, G.”

“Perhaps.”

You just gently laughed, your soul radiating energy as you lightly patted his chest, “I guess I'll go first.. I suppose I feel this tightness in my chest, and it feels like I have a lot of energy yet I'm happy to just be still.”

Mulling over the words you stared at your hand while the scientist listened, “I guess I just want to be around you. I like when you laugh and not just because it's rare to hear.. you know?”

“... Perhaps,” he murmured, he could feel her energy brimming within not only her but also within himself as she lay tucked against him. Normally this behavior was for lessening the harsh transition of intimacy and while before he could bear it he found himself settled, at peace in doing so. It was abating this nagging feeling that had been pressed into the back of his mind all day, he found it strange yet also peculiar as she stilled against his body. The memories of his past, of the young skeletons, faded away.

He was incredibly warm and while he had an odd body structure it was comfortable to lay along him as you slid your hand across his chest into a lazy hug, your hand hanging loosely against his ribs as a conversation on the TV caught your attention. Chip's tail flicked at the bottom of the screen as he waltzed on by to the hallway, probably bothered by the light and went to find a darker napping spot. You could understand the disconnect between the Lich and Sans but also found it not in your place to bring it up any further than that, it was between them and they could either work it out or.. they just wouldn't. It was why Sans was so sure nothing good would come out of your bond with the scientist, he had never known him to be anything other than displaced yet while he saw a coldness you saw it as being aloof, private and sedate.

You decided to bring up a new topic, feeling content to just speak with him as it was becoming more usual for him to make long responses back to you, “are those fallen monsters going to be able to go home soon..?”

He hummed lightly, “the ones that survive may recover within the next few weeks.”

“You mean some of them wont make it..?” you murmured.

“Three have succumbed.”

Blinking wildly a sadness crept into your chest, he hadn't found any of this 'worth mentioning'. You knew why.. though it was hard to process that this man was just so emotionally numb he handled events as fact and nothing more. Trying to not think about it too much you let the silence fall between you before you nearly whispered, “sorry to hear that, G..”

“Mnn.. why would you be?”

“Because they died.. that's just a little saddening to know that they weren't able to make it after being put through that place, they were probably innocent and wont get to see their families..” your voice trailed off as he replied.

“The dead do not regret, my dear.”

It took you a moment to process his words in order to formulate a proper response, one that he could understand, “yeah.. but the living do. That's why we have funerals.. they aren't really for the departed, they're for the living to say goodbye one last time.. even though they are already gone.”

The Lich listened as you swallowed, clearing your throat as you went on, “I know you've seen a lot of people go, G.. I guess you're not scared of.. leaving. But to know that their families never really got to say goodbye is.. sad.”

“My dear..” he brought his free hand up to gently run his fingertips up across your cheek, pulling your hair from your face and neck as he murmured, “there is no such thing as a proper farewell.”

You hadn't noticed your soul trembling and couldn't help but feel a little silly, what was with you tonight and deep conversations? Softly exhaling you relaxed once more and nodded as he set the hand down beneath his ribs beside you as you spoke, “though the others should recover right..? They won't relapse will they?”

“Relapse is unheard of,” he was about to finish that sentence but he didn't, watching as you settled back down and the vibrant energy of your soul mellowed to a soft glow. Recovery from falling had yet to be accomplished properly, relapse was unheard of because none had the chance to experience it. Catching himself he blinked, his sockets lightly narrowing.. why did he feel the need to censor himself for her? The way her energy dimmed, how her voice dropped, bothered him back in the left hand side of his chest while his soul was located right in the middle. Odd.

“Well that's good,” you smiled, “if anybody can help them it's you, G.”

“Of course,” he responded matter-of-factly as you playfully gave his side a pat with your palm and shook your head lightly. He had opened up to you and while it may have sounded distant you knew he wasn't used to speaking on these sorts of topics. His honesty was a good sign, even if there was seemingly no emotional attachment to his words.

“Doctor, your humility is a _'no show'_.”

A chuckle ran through his chest as he held you tighter against him, “ah, well then move my ten o'clock to now.”

You smirked, tilting your head up to him your eyes locked onto one another, “remind me again of what that appointment was..?”

He gently pulled his free hand from his abdomen and tucked his fingers up beneath your jaw, your back elongating and stretched you upwards along his form. Soon you were hovering inches away from his face with his hand at your back as his voice softly pressed, “the sweetness of your lips, my dear.”

A shiver ran down your back, your eyelids drooping as you shifted and closed the distance between the both of you. At first you could both stare at one another but the deeper it became, the tighter his grip at your back dug against your t-shirt, the quicker your eyelids fell. His hand slid down your neck to cup it's fragile form against his damaged palm as soon gentle panting and the grinding of your jaws entangled your tongues in a variety of sensual indulgence. Your soul thrummed deeply, the feeling of sparks digging into your stomach ignited within you as that pressure within the left side of his chest returned with an odd tug in his gut. You both gave in to these feelings, not willing to question nor label it as the night life stirred around the city just beyond the window basked in a soft blue glow.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter of this bomb should be up tomorrow, I'm still writing and polishing it up just for you guys so bear with me (it's a longer chapter like chapter 5 was).  
> Thank you guys for all the views, kudos, comments and support on both Thrown Amidst Monsters and Living with a Lich. It's crazy how many hits this first bomb has gotten and it's just too awesome, thanks everyone!


	7. The Approaching Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys finishes her project and presents it to WD Gaster.

Last night with Gaster had been peaceful. It was always nice to hear him speak and see what was on his mind, even if he could be rather blunt or uncensored with his words. It was almost refreshing to know that he had an inability to be anything but honest. Eventually he moved you both to the bed though you weren't sure when as you had fallen asleep only to wake up with the sun shining into the room and your back pressed into the broad, bare chest of the monster who literally had you caged against him. It was a gentle morning just as the other day had been, you listened to him breathe as you lied there and let yourself wake up. Though as you began to smile at his gentle rhythm a hot, slick tendril pressed into the exposed side of your neck startling you enough to let out a gasp and shudder against him as he chuckled.

This was his newest method of getting you to try practicing his magic through, you had nearly expected him to turn it sexual but for some reason he did not. You assumed he could sense your soreness and while it wasn't nearly as strong today he never even attempted to act on desire. This training session lasted about half an hour as you lay against him and were starting to really get the hang of pushing and pulling the apparition though you could only really move one hand with such delicacy as two would be much more clumsy and not as sensitive to your commands. You remembered how he used a dozen to blockade against Sans' attacks as if it were nothing, becoming much more aware of how focused and powerful he truly was as your training ended with you successfully being able to move the two hands separately from each other even though you couldn't do it for long.

 

The morning was a soft pace as you dressed, joked around with the scientist and checked over your phone. Jenny had sent you another barrage of texts and filled you in on every small detail of her date, you smiled as it seemed she had really enjoyed her time with this guy whom was apparently named Jake. You made a State Farm joke to which she blew up your phone with response texts as the Lich said his gently goodbyes, though somehow that devolved into more kissing before he broke away and stole off with one of your coffee mugs again. After taking care of Chip and tidying up from your couch potato lounging the other night you headed across the hall to Toriel's. She had decided to make breakfast for you this time, she always could make things taste so much better than you could and while you told her this she only smiled all the brighter.

Toriel instructed her children with school work at the table while you went about tidying up and straightened the children's room at a leisurely pace. Frisk always managed to keep their side clear of clutter and organized very well besides the occasional scrap of laundry or stray crayon but Asriel was a different story, at least he somewhat made his bed today but you found a stash of granola bars inside of his pillow. After their lesson and your main chores were done you made a light lunch before taking the family to the park to let the kids run wild as they liked to do, today they begun to play with other children around the playground and both yourself and Toriel found a pride swelling as you watched Frisk practically unite the entire kid community within a fifty foot radius. You wondered how brightly their soul could shine but looking at their face as they laughed and played answered that question for you.

You wanted to know more about the fallen monsters but felt now was not the time, Toriel was so nurturing and gentle you weren't sure how she would speak with you about the topic. Sometimes she really did feel like the mother you never had as she made a comment on how she is happy you were feeling better from yesterday, an embarrassed blush rising in your cheeks to which she giggled at. It felt as if things were settling back down once again, your bond with the scientist was growing and everyone seemed relatively relaxed besides Sans but that had become his new 'usual' self.

 

Back at the lab things were similar. It was quiet, peaceful and Gaster worked in solitude as he preferred. He found it much easier to concentrate today, not being clouded by alcohol as he stuck with plain black coffee instead. The soul fragments in the vat was slivering well though he still had to manually adjust the settings with the natural flux and flow of the kind of energy he was dealing with. Patience was just the type that was slow to being manipulated and changed, it would test Alphys well. The Lich had preferred to use a Determined soul just because he had enough experience to know how far and fast he could push the energy though it may have overwhelmed certain monsters with it's ferocity. Bravery was the soul type he had hoped for, a gentle orange color that handled stress well and was just enough of a push for a monster soul yet he was fine to make due with what he had. It never crossed his mind again to use the yellow Justice energy permeating within his form.

A dull voice behind him stirred the Lich from his work, “i see your gonna start trainin' alphys.. think she can really handle that, _doc?_ ”

Summoned hands sprung up at the back of the scientist as he continued to instruct the machine, speaking and signing flatly with the apparitions, “is there something you needed, Sans?”

“yeah. mind answerin' the question?”

A gentle exhale pressed past Gaster's throat though he did not feel irritated, his body was relaxed and sedated as a golden energy and some other odd sensation wove through his muscles especially in his rib cage, “do you have reason to believe she could not preform?”

There was the sound of a slow, lazy stepping as Sans gently perused his way over to the desk and noted the mug sitting there before turning his gaze back to the hands. He knew where this ceramic came from as he stated, “gonna answer all my questions with a question?”

“Would it not be more efficient for you to speak with Doctor Alphys about matters concerning her?”

A light, irate puff of air pressed through the skeleton's teeth as he removed a hand from his jacket pocket and pulled the zipper down before grabbing inside the fabric for a crinkled stack of papers, “heh heh.. you're settin' her up for failure.”

The scientist closed his eye sockets, his back to the skeleton as Sans slapped down the stack of papers on his desk beside the stolen mug, slipping the zipper back up into place. A silence gracing the room as he stepped back over to where he had been standing, “you only teach hard lessons with high expectations.”

Gaster remained still as he slowly opened his eyes again to take in the machine before him as the sounds of Sans' slippers on the cement came to a halt, the only noise was the gentle hum of the machine as even the halls and lobby were silent at this hour in the afternoon. For some reason the scientist still felt comfortable from the other night, his words finding him as he signed with the summoned apparitions at his back.

“You do not give her nor yourself enough credit, Sans.”

There was no response, a stillness falling through the room for as the seconds turned into minutes the Lich felt the skeleton's presence remove itself from his office. The bony summoned hands dissolved into thin air as he focused back on his work, at least this time the skeleton had left without having to utter a final retort.

 

Slightly dazed Sans found himself slouching in Alphys' office, it was much more cluttered and disorganized in here but she seemed to be doing well as the little blue sliver of blue energy was now contained within a miniature device placed on her desk beside the computer. At first glance it merely looked like a decoration though he knew better as she was scribbling notes on her desk with her back to him in a swivel chair, her glasses drooped down her snout as the skeleton spoke.

“knock knock.”

Startled the woman yipped and nearly fell from her chair, whirling around with her tail lashing behind her she gripped onto the front of her lab coat as her wide eyed expression fell to a relaxed one with a deep sigh, “S-sans.. d-don't d-do th-that t-to me.”

“knock knock.”

She blinked at his sleepy, smiling expression and grinned herself as she carefully adjusted her glasses, “w-who's th-there?”

“wire.”

“W-wire wh-who..?”

“wire you playin' with that thing still?”

She chuckled nervously, adjusting herself on the chair, “I-i g-guess Un-undyne t-told you..?”

He slowly nodded, his white eyes training onto her, “she said you napped and then worked on this all night.”

“I-i co-couldn't help myself,” she chuckled nervously, swiveling back around as he gently stepped forward up to the desk and peered at the little machine as she went on, “I-i am f-familiar with determination b-but pa-patience is i-incredibly r-resilient an-and non-aggressive.”

The skeleton nodded as she pushed her papers aside and drew the machine to the edge of the desk towards him, hovering her claws across the top of the capsule, “t-this i-is f-for co-controlling p-pressure. I-i n-noticed th-that's wh-what Doctor Gaster's m-machine uses. I-i just h-have to f-find the right environment f-for the e-energy to m-melt back down.”

Sans chuckled lightly, “it's compressed right now, should be able to reform in a few days you just gotta have enough _patience_.”

She didn't catch the joke at first but as she looked over to his shit eating grin she couldn't help but to laugh and shake her head, her nervousness being turned to excitement, “h-he is r-really brilliant, Sans,” she said while turning her attention back to the device to watch the shard within lightly fade and brighten naturally, the skeleton was silent as she went on, “I-i kn-know I c-can't compare t-to his achievements.. b-but I kn-know if w-we worked together t-the cure w-will be made th-that much faster.”

“don't compare yourself to him, alphys,” Sans murmured, slowly blinking his sockets as he watched her claws adjust a small screw at the side of the device.

“S-sorry.. U-undyne s-says th-the s-same thing b-but t-the h-highest m-mark on my r-record i-is c-creating Metatton's body.. w-while h-he built th-the core.. h-he made a m-monster s-soul f-from b-base materials..”

The skeleton's white eyes drifted over to the woman as she adjusted her glasses once more and breathed out quietly, “b-besides m-metatton.. i-i've o-only m-made mistakes.”

“he's done a lot of bad things,” her eyes turned to meet his as he sleepily drawled, “at least yours came from sincerity to do the right thing.. not just because you _could_.”

Shakily she set her arm onto the desk as she swiveled the chair to face more towards him, the shard in the device casting a gentle blue light over the ivory of the skeleton's bones, “w-what d-did he do..?”

His grin hitched a little higher even though his eyelids drooped over his sockets while he turned away from the desk and slowly began to walk across the room to gather his magic before he spoke, “plenty.”

She blinked at him, her mouth opening to respond but he was gone. The woman watched where he vanished before slowly bringing herself back around to the device and began to tinker with it a tad more, her mind processing the conversation. She knew Sans wasn't fond of Gaster, there was some dark mystery behind the both of them and while she had a feeling she'd never discover it she set her sights on her work. She wasn't that afraid of the scientist anymore, he was just.. quiet, serious with events in his past that have been long forgotten about. A strange relatable understanding began to project within her mind as she adjusted the pressure in the vat, earning a light flicker of blue from the shard as a smile crossed her lips.

Undyne had supported and rallied her through the night as she worked, she was this beacon of light in the woman's life and if she saw greatness.. surely Alphys could begin to see the talents within herself, she could make a difference and with the help of the Lich she could possibly reach new heights she had been too afraid to tackle. The thoughts of the scientist being flawed made her more comfortable as she swiped through the papers on her desk in an attempt to find her notes to write down her observations.

 

***

The next few days were pretty fun and relaxing, Asriel only had to be put in time out once for back talking his mother and you frequented the park with the little adopted family. Even Undyne had joined you guys for one afternoon while Toriel was busy meeting with Asgore to discuss whatever the next issue seemed to be, you didn't really ask. The day had the smell of rain drawing in, clouds building up yet the day was still warm with bits of blue sky showing through the gathering weather.

Undyne, of course, didn't allow you to enjoy the atmosphere of the day as she always managed to run the three of you into the ground. You laid panting on the grass with Frisk and Asriel flopped around you as you gazed up at the shifting sky and squinted as the warrior hunched over you, sweaty and smirking.

“That all you got, punk!?”

“Undyne..” you wheezed, “what are you even made out of..?”

“Protein and anime! FUHUHU!”

You laughed as the two kids groaned beside you, the grass tickled your skin but you didn't plan on moving until you had caught your breath and maybe a nap. As your eyes drifted closed the woman snapped her webbed fingers loudly in front of your face, startling you and made your markings flare up with a tingling sensation as you focused on the warrior hovering over you. She was silhouetted in the soft sunshine.

“Come on, you can go another ten minutes!”

“Jesus Undyne-” you panted, “do you torture Alphys like this..?”

She smiled sweetly, resting her hands on her legs as she crouched down beside you and laughed, “nah. She's too freakin' cute! Besides, she's been busy all week with her little project thing.”

“Project thing..?” you breathed, scrunching your sweaty brow as you turned your head to look at the woman. She gave you a curious gaze as she spoke.

“Yeah. That one about the soul shard or something..?”

You blinked as Asriel groaned to your left, “she doesn't know.”

“Seriously?!” Undyne jolted her gaze to the half dead goat child, sprawled across the ground as Frisk tore some grass from the Earth beside them and sprinkled the blades over his snout lazily, “C'mon punk it's for Gaster-” your heart skipped a beat as your confusion deepened, she brought her eyes back to you as her smirk spread, “does he not tell you jack shit?! That's hilarious!”

You lightly laughed, bringing an arm up to wave your hand lazily, “what you guys find worth mentioning and what he finds worth mentioning are two totally different things.”

Asriel dryly laughed but it was soon cut off by a sneeze as Frisk began to giggle and only dumped more grass onto his muzzle. You let your arm fall back to the ground, closing your eyes as you slowed your breathing and muttered, “just tell me what's goin' on.”

“Well Alphys wanted to be a bigger part of the project since those monsters didn't make it. She actually went up and asked and he said that if she could.. reshape this shard of energy or some shit he would take her under his wing as an apprentice.”

“Really..?” your eyelids fluttered open as you stared up at the woman who was smiling brilliantly.

“Yeah and she's gonna kick the shit out of it! She carries it around with her everywhere and it already melted into this glob, I guess it's a good thing..? She's worried but I told her to just believe in herself and she could do anything!”

You began to laugh, a warm feeling spreading in your chest as you heard this news. You never thought he would get along with anyone besides you and the kids but apparently he was already making strides with Alphys and in turn Undyne. You bet he was just curious but still.. the fact that he had agreed to something like that was another good step in the right direction.

Pulling yourself up into a seated position you grunted, “well that's awesome news, Undyne. I'm sure she'll be able to pull it off.”

She patted you on the back rather hard, earning another grunt as she laughed loudly, “that's what I told her-” you watched as her face devolved into a compassionate snarl, “Now get back up and give me another ten minutes to beat you across the field five more times!”

You groaned loudly as she turned her attention to the kids who both met her gaze with worried expressions, a few blades of grass shifting on Asriel's snout as the warrior barked, “you too! Get your butts up and movin'! Ngyah!”

They simply gave her incredulous stares until she jumped up and summoned a spear in her hand with a war cry, that sent all three of you scrambling to your feet and launched back across the clearing with her shouting at your heels.

Right when you had gotten over your sore, tender aches from a few days ago Undyne had to become your personal trainer for the day. At least the kids would be actually tired tonight for once.

 

***

 

Alphys sat at her desk, anxiety gnawing at her insides as she held her claw above the call button on her phone. It was nearly the end of the day, nearing her deadline. Her eyes were locked in on the little device before her thrumming in a shimmering blue light that glistened outward from it's container and across the desk. Unable to take her eyes away her claw tapped the call button as she brought the cellphone up to her ear, she never had to wait very long until she heard that familiar, aggressive voice.

_'Babe! What's up!?'_

A gentle smile tugged at her lips though her throat was still tight as she stammered, “h-hey Un-undyne. I.. I uh.. I-i th-think I d-did it..?”

The warrior laughed with gusto on the other end, _'that's great! See I knew you could do it!'_

“Nnn..” the woman whimpered, pulling her free hand up to the back of her neck as she continued to stare at her work, “i-it's j-just..”

Alphys abruptly cut herself off as she heard voices in the background, recognizing Sun and the two children as Undyne barked at them, _'back off punks, I'm talkin' to my woman! I'll let you know what she says-!'_ A gentle flutter pitter pattered in her chest, a rosy blush rising into her yellow cheeks as she heard Undyne exhale and laugh into the receiver.

_'Sorry, babe. What were you saying?'_

Alphys let out a shaky breath and continued with a nervous grin, “I-i..I th-think I d-did it. B-but it's.. uh..”

 _'Yeah?! Spit it out!_ ' she could tell the warrior was smiling her wide, sharpened smirk which settled the woman down as she breathed out and adjusted her glasses. The blue tint glinting from her lenses as the tiny blue soul hovered effortlessly in the chamber.

“I-it's just.. s-so _small._ ”

 _'Awe babe, it's just like you-!'_ the woman felt the heat rise in her cheeks, a fluffy embarrassment catching her off guard as Undyne cooed, _'i bet it's sexy too.'_

Stammering wildly Alphys felt sweat build up on her skin as she shivered, “U-undyne!”

_'Awe baby you know I love you!'_

“Y-yeah..” the woman settled back down into her chair, lowering her hand back to the desk as her eyelids drooped and murmured, “l-lo-love y-you t-too..”

_'So what are you so afraid of? Go get your apprenticeship!'_

“T-the s-soul..” she continued to speak quietly, eyeing the device once more. The little blue heart was shining brightly but was only the size of an eraser on a pencil, “i-it's n-not.. n-not wh-what I h-had hy-hypothesized..”

She could hear voices draw up in the background, Undyne's voice trailing off as she spoke away from the phone, _'she says it's not a hypotenuse.'_

About to speak up she instead just sighed, a light laugh working through her chest as she heard the phone being fought over with Undyne growls fading away in the background as Sun chirped into the receiver.

_'Something about the sum of a square?'_

“T-the l-longest si-side of a r-right angle t-triangle.”

 _'Yeah whatever,'_ you giggled, the sound lightly flickering into the room and helped Alphys relax, _'hey don't be scared of G. The worst thing he will do is blink, I promise.'_

“B-but-”

_'No buts!'_ there was a fit of giggles in the background as she continued, _'if you made a heart, no matter it's right angle, then you passed! Alphys you did it!'_

“I-i'm n-not s-sure..” she stammered gently, her claws ticking against the hard wood as you sighed on the other end.

_'You go get your butt up and go over there or I will have Undyne drive us across town so we can go with you!'_

“Th-that's n-not necessary,” she grinned, the end of her tail flicking at the gesture.

_'Well go on, then! After he's done studying your behavior with his blank stare and says something super underwhelming like:_ _**“you pass”** _ _give us a call back so we can make plans for a celebration dinner-!'_

The girl let out a whine as the phone was wrangled back, Undyne breathing into the receiver as she laughed confidently, _'I know just the place! We gon' have Saki tonight, Fuhuhu!'_

Alphys laughed lightly and nodded, “o-okay.. w-wish me luck..”

 _'Babe, you got something better than luck-!'_ the woman listened curiously, _'you got passion and talent! No matter if it's nerdy stuff or science junk, you got this in the bag!'_

“A-all right, U-undyne,” she giggled, the end of her tail lightly swaying behind her as she picked up the small device on the desk. Pure energy radiated against her palm as she hopped down from the chair and spoke confidently, “i-i'll call back s-soon.”

There was a bunch of cheering on the other line before the woman disconnected the call and shakily pocketed the phone into her lab coat, she looked to the door and inhaled deeply before striding forward and traversed out into the hallway. Most of her staff had gone home but those who stayed smiled and waved to her as she returned the gesture, no other monsters had fallen but she had worked tirelessly on both the soul and the remaining monsters clinging to life. Everyone was counting on her, she could do better and she could prevent further deaths if she just kept pushing a little harder out of her comfort zone.

As she realized she was situated outside the large double doors of the Lich's office she paused, this was definitely out of her comfort zone as her heart beat wildly in her chest. Gathering her courage she tightened her grip on the device in her hand and pressed inside.

 

The Lich was right in the middle of taking a drink of scotch as his white eyes flicked over to the door, watching the small monster wander inside with a blue light beaming through the fingers of her left hand. Curiously the man swallowed the burning smoky flavor before dropping his hand to let the cup rest lightly on the desk at his side as she stepped up to him nervously. Interestingly she didn't meet his eyes at first as his now free hand gently molded a moth between his fingers, Oliver fluttered from his hand quickly to nestle on the shoulder of the woman as she looked up to him.

She lightly swallowed and murmured, “I-i b-believe i-i've got it..” slowly she glanced down to her clenched hand and brought it forward, uncurling her fingers to show the small little vat resting upright in her palm with a shimmering blue heart within it, “I-it's a b-bit small..”

The moth fluttered it's wings against her coat as Gaster turned towards her and took a light step forward, eyeing the machine in her hand before summoning a bony hand to sweep forward to take the device from her carefully. She took back her arm and nestled her hands into the pockets of her white lab coat as she watched the bony apparition raise it up to eye level for the looming monster. Nervously she continued to observe as his white eyes flicked over the device, the small soul within it and took in the detail of not only the design of the vat but it's overall construction.

He didn't say a word as the hand brought it back down to her, waiting for the woman to carefully take the device back. The silence was not helping the woman's anxiety, her skin felt like it was crawling but she remembered her friends words. She looked back up and met the monster's eyes and held them with her own but was sure to blink as his gaze was rather harsh and intimidating. With her friends encouraging words fresh in her mind she waited patiently, reflecting her project as he tucked his hands behind his back and studied her. Nearly about to speak she swallowed down the words, feeling awkward as all hell as Oliver lightly felt the air with his antennae by her neck.

Gaster found this highly intriguing. Normally she was so talkative and nervous yet she held his gaze, waiting for him to speak. He wondered how long this could go on for and as the seconds ticked on he became more amused by the sudden resolve this monster was displaying. It reminded him of something.. Ah.. Yes, it reminded him of _her_. While the yellow lizard was much more docile, missing the lively spark of the human girl he had become fond of, it still stirred a barely noticeable sensation within his chest. It was all he needed to finally open his mouth.

“You pass.”

Startled Alphys stood there, everything Sun had predicted had come true. Was he really that easy to understand after all..?

“Th-thank y-you, D-doctor,” she grinned, holding the vat carefully in her hand, “w-what sh-should I do w-with it though..?”

The Lich thought for a moment, the silence drawing in once more but Alphys was starting to become accustomed to this before he spoke gently, “keep it.”

“Sh-shouldn't w-we p-put it b-back-?”

“Doctor Alphys.. consider it a reward.”

Blinking wildly she looked down into her hand, the little blue heart fluttering happily in the machine as his voice trailed across the room once more, “it is nothing more than a finger print, there is no harm in displaying your achievement.”

Alphys looked back up to the Lich and nodded, her smile widening as the black moth scurried over her shoulder blissfully, “w-what is my f-first assignment?”

Gaster's eyes trailed away from her to the machine, thinking for a moment before taking a stride towards the wall with his back slightly to her, “this stage is nearly complete. Check in with me tomorrow morning as there are base components to begin building that will require the rest of the weekend to fully set.”

“O-of course..” she grinned, an excitement welling inside of her as she turned to leave. Her claws lightly clicking against the cold ground but as she reached the door she paused, glancing over her shoulder she spoke with Oliver slipping around to rest on her shoulder blade.

“H-hey..” he remained still yet his eyes flicked over to her from the corner of his sockets as she continued, “S-sun, Undyne and I a-are going f-for sushi.. w-would you l-like to join us?”

The Lich blinked, processing the request within his mind. This woman had greatly warmed up to him in a similar instance as the human girl had, she seemed to not be as intimidated by his presence and on the inside it left him greatly curious. Alphys didn't notice the light tug at his thin mouth as he spoke.

“Perhaps another night, Doctor Alphys.”

She nodded, “goodnight then, Gaster,” quickly noticing her slip up she stammered as the smirk grew on the Lich's jaws, “I-i mean D-doctor.. D-doctor Gaster.. Er.. night!”

With that she slipped out the door, the heavy metal clicking back together just as his moth darted back into the room and hovered throughout the air as the scientist watched. A light, reverberating chuckle wove through his chest as he brought his attention back to the machine. She felt he was a friend, that was probably the most interesting thing to happen this week for the Lich. He didn't know why these people wanted to be around him, talk to him or interact with him. It was the complete opposite of what he was used to. Perhaps it was the girls doing.. he called the moth back to him and let the creature rest on his shoulder, it's wings lightly flicking.

He blinked suddenly, his head tilting to the side as he thought.

What was.. sushi?

 

Alphys heart felt like it was about to burst through her chest, she had only managed to be a little bit awkward but he had passed her. This project had been so difficult to manage, she never was without this little machine tucked in her hand and as she went back into her office she found the skeleton standing there with his sockets drooped and grin wide. Startled the woman huffed before walking into the room towards her desk while she stammered, “I-i p-passed.”

Sans blinked slowly, watching the woman set the little device on her desk and pull her hand away as she smiled at the tiny heart within it. His silence made her look over to him as she spoke, “y-you sh-should j-join us!”

“nah,” he replied, his white eyes training on hers as she turned to fully face him.

“B-but I.. I-i c-couldn't h-have d-done th-this w-without y-your su-support a-and advice.. h-how d-do you k-know so much a-about souls..?”

The skeleton lightly chuckled, shaking his head and avoiding the question, “thinkin' takes too much effort.”

“B-but yo-you're s-so sm-smart-!.. Oh..” the woman softened as she took a step forward, “s-sorry.. I-i sh-shouldn't p-push you..”

Sans shrugged casually and watched as she pulled her lab coat off, gently draping it over the back of her chair as she murmured, “i u-understand th-that y-you're uncomfortable..” she rustled her phone from her coat pocket and held it in her hand as she turned back to him.

With a smile over her face she spoke kindly, “w-wanna c-come t-to s-sushi w-with us?”

Blinking the skeleton stared at her, “..sushi..?”

“Ah, i-it's l-like f-fish a-and v-vegetables r-rolled in seaweed a-and rice.”

“..seaweed..?”

She laughed nervously, nodding and looked down to her phone as a text popped up onto the screen saying that Undyne and Sun were ready when she was. The woman replied quickly before stuffing the phone in her pocket and looked back up to the confused skeleton, “S-sun i-is coming w-with u-us.. I-i'm s-sure sh-she'd l-like you t-to come.”

Sans lightly pulled his hand from his jacket pocket as Alphys stepped up to him and carefully gripped onto his arm as she shrugged, “sounds fun.”

“Y-you sure..?” she asked carefully as the skeleton's white eyes bounced over to her with his grin deepening.

“no _trout_ about it.”

Just as she began to laugh Sans vanished with the woman. As they traveled through the void the skeleton didn't know how seaweed was supposed to taste appetizing, he didn't think too much on it as they dropped in the hallway between the two flats. He wasn't sure which one they were in and as Alphys steadied herself from the dizzying trip he listened, hearing Undyne right on the other side of Sun's door.

 

“These taste like shit yet I keep eating them!”

You laughed as you sat on the couch with Undyne, she had the bag of gummy bears in her hand and was popping them into her mouth in hand fulls. Toriel had picked up Asriel and Frisk as they had to go to bed early for a press conference the royal family had to attend tomorrow morning, they both went without a word of protest and you could tell all that running in the park left them exhausted. Their mom seemed grateful.

“Yeah they're kind of addicting like that,” you giggled, you had gotten dressed into something cute but casual. The darkening sky outside the window worried you a bit as the smell of rain had only gotten stronger but it wouldn't deter you from getting to have sushi for the first time in a long time. It was normally too expensive but Undyne insisted she pay for you, her royal salary was plentiful and you had a feeling she was extra excited on Alphys' behalf.

As the door opened to your flat you both looked over to see Alphys and Sans stepping inside, the skeleton closing the door behind him as you both cheered for her. The woman nervously walked into the living room as Undyne jumped up from the couch and hustled over to pull the girl into a loving embrace.

“You should be so proud of yourself, babe! I know I am.”

Chiming in you grinned as you stood from the couch and made your way over just as Sans did, standing across from him as the women released their hug with Alphys grinning nervously.

“What did he say?” you asked, watching as the woman turned to you and laughed lightly.

“E-exactly w-what y-you pr-predicted.”

You let out a heavy laugh, setting your hands on your hips as Undyne shook some more candy into her palm before popping the pieces into her mouth. Sans eyed her oddly as she tucked the bag away from him, not too keen on sharing as you spoke up.

“I told you! He's not so scary.”

“Y-yeah.. I-i g-guess..?” she stammered, her grin spreading as she looked back Undyne and raised a brow at the bag she was coveting.

“You wouldn't want any of these babe, they're awful!”

“Th-then wh-why are you e-eating them..?”

You tried to hold back your laughter as you looked to Sans who met your gaze and shrugged his shoulders with a lazy grin on his face.

“Because I can't stop!” the warrior cackled, Alphys reaching for the bag as Undyne angled it outward for her.

You spoke up to Sans as the woman dug her claws through the plastic bag and picked out a few pieces of candy, “you gonna come with us..?”

“sure, I wouldn't pass up on such an oppor- _tuna_ moment to hang out.”

Laughing lightly you just shook your head at the bad joke, the marks on your skin starting to itch but you hardly felt it while Alphys curiously tasted the candy and smiled brightly.

“T-these a-aren't b-bad at all!”

“Babe, they stick to my teeth and my fighting spirit!” Undyne sneered, popping another into her jaws as you and Sans looked back over to the two. Carefully you reached out for the bag, the woman growling at you with her facial fins quivering but you just laughed and gently took the bag out of her hands and set it on the counter. She had nearly eaten the entire thing.

“Okay.. save some room for sushi,” you chuckled.

Alphys giggled as she finished up her chosen pieces of candy while Undyne laughed and nodded, she then practically pushed the three out of you out of the door and into the hallway. You barely remembered to lock your flat before hurrying on outside with the group.

Trailing behind Alphys and Undyne both you and Sans watched as the women held hands and talked between each other, the skeleton had a lazy pace but you didn't mind it. The scent of water filled the air with a warm breeze billowing past your humble group while the city's night life began to stir.

“So,” you spoke with a smile, drawing the skeleton's eyes over to you, “what do you even do all day, Sans?”

He shrugged lightly, “plenty.”

Laughing you pressed, “and that meeaanns..?”

Your group strode on by through the crowds beginning to form along the sidewalks, feeling calm and content beside the skeleton who grinned deeper at you, “the usual.”

“You're such an ass, Sans,” you giggled, shaking your head as you looked forward and caught sight of Undyne and Alphys smiling to one another as you walked behind them. They were too cute. You could see how much they cared and while you were waiting to hear back from Alphys all Undyne did was ramble about the woman, everything she could do and how smart she was.. how hard she worked on that project and how proud of her Undyne was. It was so sweet, you've never heard someone talk like that about anything in the way that the woman had in your flat all while stuffing gummy bears into her mouth.

“They really love each other a lot,” you murmured, Sans following your gaze with a light chuckle. You always wondered what something like that felt like.. you'd experience it one day.

 

After a few more minutes you all made it into the restaurant, it smelt cool and refreshing as they sat you guys at a booth with Undyne and Alphys on one end and you and Sans in the other. You had seen this place but never actually pulled the trigger on exploring it out, Undyne was adamant about certain rolls and you trusted her on her choices. Sans seemed to be enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the place, the gentle music and lighting paired well with the round of hot Saki you all had as the conversation went on.

The waitress soon came over and took the order for the table from Undyne, you were a bit nervous at how many rolls she ordered but you were hungry and certainly could eat your share though just as the girl was about to leave she tentatively spoke up and looked to Alphys.

“I-i apologize for intruding but are you the royal scientist..?”

You smiled sweetly as the woman grinned and softly replied, “y-yes, o-one o-of them.”

Glancing to the girl's name tag you memorized the girls name, Suzy. Sans seemed to be relaxed beside you as he watched this interaction go on.

“T-then..” Suzy gently brought herself forward, trying to be more private and respectful with her questions, “you work with.. that huge monster, I forget his name-”

“WD Gaster,” you chirped, grabbing the woman's attention as she brightened up at noticing you. Your marks were slightly showing on your neck as she hurriedly replied.

“Oh! Y-yes that's right,” Suzy turned back to Alphys and smiled as she spoke, “I just wanted to say thank you for your work, monsters deserve all the rights as anyone else and I hope those politicians get their eats after putting those people through the camp.”

Stunned Alphys began to blush wildly while you laughed and nodded, “you and I both sister.”

Suzy laughed along with you before excusing herself and went to put in the order, Undyne set her hand comfortingly on Alphys arm as she shivered with embarrassment and yet she was smiling so broadly. You were giddy from the positive interaction as Sans drawled while picking up a pair of chopsticks, “see, alph, you do accomplish good things.”

You nodded along with Undyne as Alphys looked up at the table of her friends smiling to her, a pride swelling within her chest. Your gaze turned to Sans who was just playing with the sticks in his hand, giggling you reached for your pair and settled them into your hand and showed him how they were supposed to lay. The skeleton scrunched his brow together as he observed the layout of your hand with the utensils and mimicked it quite well in his own bony hand. Undyne chuckled as she watched while Alphys stammered.

“I-it's o-okay if y-you c-can't get it, y-you can e-eat with your hands too.”

“Oh, I didn't know that,” you murmured, blinking to her as she smiled and nodded.

“I-it's acceptable e-either way.”

Grinning you watched Sans figure out the motions of the chopsticks, he was much better than you had been on your first try. You wondered how well Gaster could use them, though his hands were probably too large for the sticks and it made you lightly laugh as Sans eyed you.

“too much saki already, light weight?”

You shook your head, smiling widely as you set your chopsticks down and reached for your warm small cup to lift the drink to your lips, “hardly.”

 

The rolls were quick to fly from the kitchen and onto beautiful white plates between the four of you, digging in you found the fish to be excellent. Though your gaze met Sans as you watched his jaws open to take in a piece of sushi, a light smirk hitching at his teeth as that blue glow within his skull radiated out against his chopsticks. A slight fluttering in your gut made you pull your eyes away, smiling shyly as Suzy came back with another round of Saki. She must have noticed the interaction as she quickly added, “You guys are all so cute together.”

Your gaze jolted up to her just as she turned and walked away as Undyne began to laugh, nearly choking on her food while your markings flared. Sans noticed your expression and began to chuckle deeply, the sound bouncing in his rib cage. It hadn't even occurred to you that this looked like some kind of double date, shit. Taking a drink of Saki you downed the tiny cup and set the ceramic onto the wooden table a tad firmly, giving Sans an apologetic and sheepish gaze yet he only laughed deeper as he pulled his arm up and wrapped it around your shoulders to bring you up against his side teasingly.

“it's fine, forgetaboutit.”

Laughing you just nodded against the searing flare of your marks, his hard body was padded by his jacket and while his kept his bony fingertips against the soft skin of your arm there was a magical twisting across your soul. The skeleton pressed you to him as Alphys began to blush, stuffing a piece of sushi in her mouth. Undyne chuckling through her teeth as he soon removed his arm from you, grinning down to you with his smirk tugged into the bottom part of his eye sockets as Undyne spoke up.

“Sun you gotta try this roll,” she snickered, her sticks hovered over a piece as Alphys munched away at a piece of her own, “it's named after you.”

Giggling you straightened back up beside the skeleton, not bothering to scoot away as you reached out for the 'sunshine roll' and tried it. Your soul reacted well to the flavor as you hummed and nodded, Sans also took a piece and tried it out. He felt it was his second favorite thing of the night, enjoying the warmth radiating from the body beside him despite the burning of magic upon her flesh that only made him smile all the deeper.

 

Over dinner you all cracked jokes, ate great food and admittedly got a bit tipsy. It was a warm, gentle buzz and you switched to water after reaching it. You never were one to get sloppy drunk, this was good enough a feeling and you lived in this moment as Undyne told one of her many stories of being a sentry in the underground. You laughed along with the group as the woman pointed out how lazy Sans was that he even fell asleep at his post and let Frisk run on by as the warrior was trying to stop them.

Picking through the final rolls you decided to take home half of a sunshine roll while Alphys took the rest. The scraps were hardly half a roll but sushi was too good to go to waste and honestly you wanted to let Gaster try it, last night with the gummy bears had been fun to see his reactions to. With your bill paid, Saki finished and appetites appeased you all made your way back outside onto the street. Undyne and Alphys said their goodbyes as she was due back at the lab in the morning and you were just excited to unwind at home.

Sans walked with you side by side as you strolled through the buzzing city streets, laughing lightly with him just as soft droplets of rain pattered on your skin. Curiously you glanced upwards at the dark sky as the skeleton watched you, his grin wide as you turned your attention back to him. Just as you were about to speak a roll of thunder growled through the sky, it was a gentle roll but you knew it was going to get worse with how hot the air was. You were so encompassed in the moment you didn't notice the usual stares you would get from your marking, one exceptional pair of amber eyes locked onto you as the individual walked by with their hood drawn but only Sans noticed this as you passed by each other.

Sighing you groaned, “great I'm going to get soaked out here.”

Sans just chuckled, shrugging as his eyes drifted behind the both of you. The skeleton caught the man still staring before they finally turned their head around to mind their own business, “..dunno about you kid but I'm bone dry.”

With a giggle you nudged him with your elbow, jostling him a tad as he turned his face you with a grin. You weren't that far away from the apartments yet another roll echoed through the city from above while a light drizzle began to fall onto your form. The droplets of water stained into your thin shirt as you sighed and held up your hand with a smile on your face, the rain felt good on your skin though Sans did draw up his hood and flashed a smirk at you.

“Jokes on you bone boy, I don't mind getting a little wet,” you took in a deep breath, the smell of rain revitalizing your body as you murmured, “it feels nice.”

“you like gettin' wet, huh?” he drawled, eyeing you as you were oblivious due to your buzz.

“I mean as long as my clothes don't get utterly soaked,” you chirped, bringing your free hand back down as you walked casually beside the skeleton while others hugged the sides of the buildings.

Sans had to really keep it together as he pressed, curious to see how far he could take this, “why not?”

“It's uncomfortable with how fabric sticks to you,” you grinned, glancing down to the skeleton to see his smile sharp and eyes bright beneath the hood though you weren't sure why, “.. what?”

He waited a moment, the sky starting to really sprinkle down around the both of you as you neared the building, “so you like gettin' wet just not soaked because it ruins your clothes..?”

An itch at the back of your head was trying to tell you something but your body felt too warm and fuzzy to accept it, his eyes were trained on you with his mischievous grin causing your gut to flutter as you replied, “well I mean like right now it's not too bad..?”

Curiously you looked around and back up at the sky as the building was drawing up on the both of you, another roll of thunder spreading through the city as he just couldn't hold it and began to laugh. Blinking you looked to him as his shoulders shook and he muttered, his canines beginning to divot along his daredevil grin, “what're you tryin' to tell me, lady?”

Confusion filled your mind as you both came up to the building and the skeleton opened the door, allowing you to step by him and inside. As you did so your gentle scent wafted by, stirring something within the monster as he quickly followed you. It had been a long time since he truly took in that smell, it wasn't covered in that earthy tone that pissed him off.. it was pure and light. As you climbed the stairs side by side you giggled, “that I like the rain..?”

Sans hummed gently, his breath building pressure behind his sharpening teeth as he spoke gently, “what do you like about the rain..?”

Smiling truly you thought for a moment, having to reach in your mind as you both climbed the flight of stairs to the second floor, “i like the smell, the sound.. and how it feels on my skin.”

A shiver wove through the monster, memories being brought to the forefront of his mind as he wrestled within himself. As they reached the third floor and stepped onto the landing towards her door he murmured just over her shoulder, “reminds me of the sun..”

Pausing at the door you blinked, becoming aware of how close he was as you turned towards him. His face was shadowed underneath his drawn hood while his white eyes were cut into half circles from how droopy his eyelids were. Gleaming, sharp canines glistened in the light of the hallway.. You stepped back as a flutter rose in your stomach and he followed until your back was pressed against the door.

He pulled a hand from his jacket and rested his bony digits against the frame of the door beside your head as he slouched before you, pressing into your personal space as his chin dropped while eyeing you as his other hand drew from his jacket. His voice was breathy, lightly smelling of the alcohol you all had shared as he murmured, “do you remember..?”

Blinking wildly your mouth opened to speak but nothing came out as he drew himself closer, his face hovering before yours as his fingertips brushed across your jawline tentatively. Frozen in place with your heart beating wildly he continued, casting a shadow across your form with his bright white eyes trained in on you, “do you ever think about it, baby..?”

“S-sans-” you tried, your heart thudding to the nickname while you lifted a hand up with your palm facing him. The black gash across your hand didn't draw his attention as he seemed to be struggling internally, your scent finally being ridden of that dreadful creature was drawing him in.. making his fangs itch.

As his fingers rested across your cheek you suddenly snapped out of it and placed your hand rather firmly on his sternum, locking your eyes with his hungry stare as you shook your head and murmured, “I'm sorry..”

His sockets twitched, his fingers gripping tighter into the door frame at what he was hearing as you pressed a bit harder to his chest, “I can't.”

“i can protect you from him-” he wove though you just shook your head again and brought up your hand still carrying your left overs and gently pressed your wrist into the side of his, gently pulling his hand away from your face.

“I don't need protecting..” you whispered, blinking rapidly, “..don't encourage me to make the same mistakes again.”

He faltered at that, blinking slowly as he straightened up and slowly dropped his arm from the door as he set the rejected hand back into his jacket. You slowed your breathing as you watched him take a step back and eventually tuck his other hand into his jacket, he still felt a coarse energy building in his form yet he buried it as he blinked to you once more. He hadn't backed off that far, it made you keep your back pressed against the door as he studied you.

Slowly you drew your hand up to your face as your hand carrying your left over sushi fell to you side, gently began to giggle against your palm. This perplexed the skeleton until you looked up to him and smiled through your fingers, “oh my god.. I didn't even get your jokes until right now.”

He wasn't laughing, his canines still showing through his strained grin as you sighed and cleared your throat, “Sans.. what I did to you was unfair and not okay.”

You brought your hands down to hang before you, sharing the grip of the plastic bag against your stomach, “I feel.. so.. _so_ guilty over what happened. I know you just want to protect me, I know you want the best for me and you want back what we had.. but like you said.. it's never going to be the same because of what happened. Of the decisions I made.”

He listened to you, his hands balling into fists within his jacket as you swallowed gently and sincerely spoke, “you were my best friend and I hurt you in ways I _never_ could have imagined.. I will never be able to make up it up to you with what happened in the underground. All I can do is try to be a better person than what I was..”

Drawing in a deep breath you slowly let it out, he hadn't moved an inch and still bore his desire filled eyes right into your own, “I can't be a better person if I just repeat the past over and over again.. don't ask me to be the person I hoped I could step away from. If we do get that chance again.. then I want it to be clean and honest.”

The skeleton's shoulders gently relaxed though his fingers remained tight, his teeth slowly melting back down as his gaze softened. You blinked to him as you let silence fall between the both of you, waiting until you felt a bit more confident before you spoke with your smile growing, “the last thing I want to do is ever hurt you again, Sans. You're very dear to me.. I know I already said that last week but it's true.”

He didn't respond. You waited for a few moments, feeling a tad awkward in the silence as the skeleton wrestled with himself. A part of him wanted to just lurch forward and sink his teeth in over that wretched mark and the other part of him wanted to just go home.. he was stuck in the middle.

Clearing your throat you prepared yourself.. you didn't necessarily want to make physical contact with him, you could tell he was high strung and ready to make some snap decision so instead you fished out your keys and lightly turned to unlock the flat as he stood there in a daze. You pushed the door open without turning your back to him and glanced over to the skeleton as you murmured, your heart racing.

“Thanks for coming tonight Sans.. it was a lot of fun, I'll just text you..?”

Patiently you waited and eventually he gave you a gentle nod as you stepped inside carefully and closed the door behind you, leaning against it as you let out a deep sigh. You felt jittery after that close interaction as you honestly had no idea it was coming.. it would not have ended well. Gathering yourself back up you walked into the kitchen and flipped on the lights as rain pattered against your windows with thunder rolling loudly outside. Your markings were driving you nuts all night but now they felt as if they were on fire, pairing with your simmering anxiety.

 

Sans was broken from his fixation with the crash of thunder outside, slowly closing his eye sockets as he drew in a deep breath.. marinating on her scent and how warm her body was. Not now.. but perhaps soon. He threw himself through the void with his sockets still closed, too frazzled to notice the black magic twisting within the empty space before he crashed on his back in his bed. Not even the smell of burnt spaghetti could pull him from this craving as he laid there in the dark, frustrated.

He wasn't like _him_.. he wouldn't just take whatever he wanted..

 _'i'm a very patient skeleton..'_ he repeated to himself internally, taking a breath and slowly letting it out with a growl.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -SHUFFLES IN- MY OH MY ;)
> 
> Thanks for waiting patiently for the last part of this bomb. Honestly I'll probably end up releasing the next chapter when I'm done with it as it's not suuper plot extensive and is contained to one very long scene. -SHUFFLES OFF STAGE-


	8. Crossing the Line (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster notices how strong Sans' smell is on you.. he isn't very pleased about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously 12 pages of just smut.  
> I said I'd post this as the last Chapter was kinda sorta a cliff hanger and I hate those, so I polished this as much as I can and serving it up hot. Enjoy!  
> (Spooky Gaster is spooky during this first half just fyi.. and by spooky I mean livid and can be considered scary. If that bothers some of you guys you can just skip this chapter if you want.)

Setting the left over sushi on the counter you sighed and ran your hand over your face, trying to clear your mind of the interaction with Sans. You would text him but not now, probably later tonight while watching your show or something.. Lowering the hand from your face you opened up the bag and popped open the black container to find your half roll of sushi looking cute and pristine. With a gentle exhale you picked up a piece and stuck it into your mouth, thinking on the flavors as you leaned against the counter.

You hardly had time to think as a giant looming presence appeared directly behind you, radiating heat into your back as you heard a sharp inhale before the form leaned down to the side of your face. Recognizing it as the Lich you relaxed, smiling widely as you swallowed and spoke, “hey, G.. didn't expect you back so soon yet.”

You were about to pick up another piece but froze as he drew in a deep breath and pressed into the side of your face and neck while a reverberating growl wove through his form directly at your back. His voice was low, radiating into the air with a rolling tremor that rivaled the thunder outside, “Why was he touching you?”

“It's no big deal, G,” you murmured casually, shrugging.

Gently he brought his hand from behind his back and caressed it upwards towards your neck and jawline before resting at your chin, the touch sent a shiver down your spine as you set your hands on the counter and closed your eyes with his breath hot and heavy against your flesh. Carefully he pressed the side of his face into your head, getting you to gently tilt and expose your neck as he inhaled over your jaw and let out the breath with a harsh huffing that warbled through his throat.

Her scent was muddled by that skeleton, it was slight but it was strong enough for the Lich to know he touched her in an intimate way as it was also on her face. Irritation seared through his body, his eyes dilating while his sockets narrowed. That skeleton was pushing it with his words but this was starting to step across the line for the Lich, her energy had been fluctuating all night and it had begun to eat at him before he finally decided to check and see what was going on for himself. He shouldn't have waited.

Your voice broke through his brooding, “relax, Gaster.”

“What happened?” he breathed, his body pressing up against your back as he studied the mixed scents at his palate.

“You don't need to know, it's between Sans and I.”

This struck the Lich rather hard, his black gums beginning to bare as a hiss drove past his jaws while you merely absorbed this tension with a shiver. His breathing was hard against your exposed neck as your markings almost burned your flesh, this was an entirely new reaction but you related it to his passionate dominance. There were a few moments of this intensity as he pressed his teeth against the side of your face and jaw, his mouth slightly open as he tasted the air like some kind of wild animal. Another growl built in his chest, tumbling from his throat just as a flicker of lightning pulsed into the living room before a booming roll shook the window.

A soft shudder ran through your spine, your head tilting a bit farther timidly as he pressed over you with his other arm still tucked against his back. Your voice was soft as you murmured against him, the vibrations of your voice tickling his gums, “you don't need to feel so threatened, G.”

It didn't seem as if he was agreeing with you, his magic twisting across the flat which clashed with the static electricity from the storm working through the building. Ever so slowly you brought your hand up, his eyes flicking over to it as his fangs glistened in the light coated with a black sticky film that stretched into strings as his jaws parted further. A heavy snarl warbled through his throat, sounding like some kind of raspy dragon as his inhale would hitch and tumble with the pressure in his chest.

“Shh,” you cooed, his sockets twitching at the sound as he kept his eyes trained on your delicate hand and while his mouth twinged to further bare his black gums he remained still as your fingertips lightly brushed up along the side of his face. A heat was building within your gut, the excitement was dizzying as you felt his warm face and slowly pressed your digits down against him until your palm was flush. You could feel every tug and pulse of air that beat from his strong throat as he hovered over you.

Whispering, forcing him to listen and focus, you purred, “you know nothing happened..”

He didn't respond or react any differently, his breath still grinding within his throat and chest. You decided to try to a new tactic and slowly rotated your face towards him, his fingers remaining hovered in the air where your chin once was. He didn't like your movements as another low roll tumbled through his form while another flash of lightning pulsed outside the window. Gently turning towards him you kept your eyes closed, feeding into his dominate nature as a gentle whimper slipped through your lips as you opened your mouth and pressed your tongue against his jaw in a slow, deep lick.

The sensation frazzled the Lich immediately, the size of his pupils jolting as his eye lids closed to the pressure in his sockets. His growling hitched and faded as your tongue lapped towards his neck before stopping, your hand still pressed to his face tenderly. A deep flutter in your gut pulled a sensual, shaky pant to press into the strong jaw of the Lich as his eyes flicked open and trained down onto you with his jaws slowly beginning to close and relax.

“Everything is fine..” you coached softly, barely above a whisper with your eyes still closed as you focused on your slow breathing which brushed along his skin as another low rumble echoed outside and shook through the flat.

Gaster let out a heavy, shuddering breath through his teeth as you dipped your forehead against his jawline and ever so gently began to stroke across his cheek with your thumb. The sensation sparked at the scientist, his pupils dilating and relaxing wildly as he took another few deep breaths and finally shut his mouth. Carefully you reached up with your other hand to his hovering digits that had been gripped onto your chin and instead wove your fingers through his tightened hand, digits laced between his massive knuckled fingers you led his hand down and tucked your arm across your body which forced his arm to do the same as you held his hand at your waist.

You took a note from his handbook and let silence wash over the both of you, listening to his pissed off breathing as he settled himself back down while the rain beat against the window with some far off rumbling echoing in the distance. The stillness felt like nearly ten full minutes, your breath brushing across his neck as he struggled internally.

He had no idea why that scent had triggered him so heavily, the fact that it was smeared on her face enraged him. Even during battle, at it's apex, he had not easily succumbed to such violence welling within his form. A deep pull in his very soul made him want to hunt down that cretin yet he fought against it as she held her small form against him, it was confusing his impulses of violence while she was guarded against him submissively. He was torn between two types of dominance.

The Lich could feel her energy but it was over shadowed by his own instinct as he stood poised with her tucked up against him. He found himself slowly dropping his face, closing his eyes as his breathing returned to a rhythmic pattern. Thinking back to that night when they were in the living room basking in the sunset he began to correlate those feelings as a cause for him to react as violently as he had tonight. He felt a great impulse to protect, to house and be with her though he was unsure why. It was such an odd thing for him to be processing, he had never felt such desire as this.. and that damned skeleton was threatening all of it with his encroaching behavior.

“Are you okay, G..?” you murmured, lightly stilling your thumb against his cheek as a deep huff blew past your shoulder while the rain continued to pour outside.

He didn't know how to respond to that. He wanted to ravage her, he wanted to break something.. His brow furrowed as he logically thought out these urges, how could he be feeling this.. strongly. The skeleton had been pestering him on and off in his office for a long time now though it never had bothered the Lich unless he tried to question his ability. The threat from a few days ago gnawed into his brain, right after the Lich's claim of death to protect her, that monster had drawled, _'that's only a matter of time..'_

He scoffed suddenly above you, the burst of air striking forth as your markings kept their insistent biting at your flesh. You could tell he was still coming down and gently tilted your head up to press your lips against the side of his face, another deep huff drawing from his chest. Thinking for a moment you opened your mouth and lightly panted against his jawline, “I have something for you..”

Intrigued the scientist steadied himself, opening his eyes and pushed the irritating discussion from his mind. He wouldn't give Sans any further thought or attention until the next time he saw him, a .. _discussion_.. would have to be had. Slowly he stood straight and tall, his shoulders rolling back into place as he exhaled gruffly. Smiling you opened your eyes and looked up to him expectantly, “would you like to see..?”

You noticed his eyes were dilating oddly, he was blinking under the harsh sensation but after some time he nodded as his neutral blank stare overcame his features. Letting out a deep breath, relieved, you turned and looked toward the counter and went to lean over it but found his arm had locked you against him. With a sigh you giggled and squeezed his hand in yours as you reached out for the box but were simply too far away now. He studied you as you realized you could use his magic, with a light huff you tensed and summoned a bony hand to hook and drag the opened container to the edge of the counter in front of you before it vanished.

Seeing the contents the Lich tilted his head slightly, his magic still a whirlwind within him yet his curiosity was always the strongest force. Gingerly you chose a piece and pinched it carefully in your fingers before turning and held it up for him, he eyed the piece oddly as you giggled and said, “it's just fish wrapped with seaweed and rice.”

This perplexed him further, he'd never heard of such a thing. You noticed his eyes stopped their weird wavering as he fixed on the piece of sushi, you nudged the item towards him and he tentatively raised a clawed hand to take it from you. Grinning you watched as he looked over the thing and then peered down at you, his magic was too thick inside of him to read your soul but your face said enough to him as he opened his jaws and popped the thing inside.

It was.. odd, yet surprisingly not bad either. It had actually snapped him from stupor as he now was focused on the experience going on within his powerful jaws. You could tell he was thinking, his eyes usually stared off like that as he processed something and as you gently spoke up he glanced back down to you with his neutral expression.

“Sooo..?”

He blinked before swallowing, running his tongue over his sharp teeth before muttering darkly, “dreadful.”

You couldn't help but to sincerely laugh, dipping your hand back into the container to feed yourself a piece, the last one left in the box. As you chewed and shook your head with a smile across your lips, he watched you carefully. His magic calmed while the storm outside pressed forth, the rain streaming across the window while the thunder rang out. As you finished your chewing you blinked and jumped as all the lights in the apartment went out with a loud click, raising your eyebrow you glanced around the room wildly though as you swallowed and turned to look up at the Lich you found his piercing white eyes locked onto you.

A tug pulled at your gut and chest as you stared up at him and smirked, “did you do that..?”

He kept his gaze on you, silent. Rolling your eyes playfully you released his hand to twist around in his tight arm that was hooked around you and brought your hands up along his chest to his shoulders. Ducking your hands up under his black coat you met his eyes and purred, “you gonna talk to me big guy.. or do I have to make you..?”

He was exceptionally well hidden right now, sighing you leaned up to his chest and pushed further up under his coat. Gently lifting the heavy fabric up and brought it down his biceps while he stared into your eyes. A flash of lightning illuminating the flat in quick still frames as you managed to get his arm to leave you so the coat would crash down onto the floor in a heap. The thunder then cascaded into the flat and admittedly made you jump pretty hard, your heart thudding in your ears and in an instant the Lich had grabbed your thighs and hoisted you up against him. Quickly you wrapped your legs around his sharp hips as a growl rumbled through his chest lowly. Realizing he was reacting to your scare you were unable to contain a gentle laugh and dipped your face down into the side of his neck, letting your arms hang loosely over his shoulders as he snorted.

Murmuring against him you felt his arms supporting you tighten, “G.. I'm fine, I promise.”

The scientist merely blinked across the room as you nestled into him and he began to carry you off down the hall, you let your eyes close as you nuzzled against his soft turtleneck. He whisked you away into the bedroom, Chip must be hiding somewhere as you knew he hated the loud noises though you hoped he wasn't under the bed as the scientist laid the both of you down onto the cool sheets with a flash of light breaking the darkness in the room. You felt his hands on your hips while you drug your hands down his torso and stuffed them under his shirt, he seemed to growl as you helped him tear off the soft fabric and threw it to the side as he fell down on top of you and bared his fangs in the darkness of the flat.

Your heart beat wildly in your chest as you whimpered and ran your hands over his hot, tattered form while he ripped the clothing from your body. He was already panting, a snarl weaving through his throat as you dug your nails into his chest and drug them down to his belt deeply. He shuddered through his rigid spine, a growl hitching in his chest as he closed his eyes and allowed you to undress him. Those feelings from earlier just came back to the Lich as he smelt her bare skin, expecting the scent to mainly be on her clothes but it was only stronger against her shoulder and cheek. It pissed him off to no end, he'd be sure that skeleton learned his place.

Lying naked beneath him you couldn't help but to shiver, the cold sheets versus the heat pressing into you from above was jarring though this was only increased as his fangs found your neck and pressed you into the mattress firmly. A cry shook through your throat as his jaws were sharp against your flesh, his deep snarl weaving through your bones as your hands fumbled at his slacks. A harsh bulge pressing into your bare crotch as he rolled himself forward impatiently, the sensation was not an entirely pleasing one as he grabbed onto your faltering wrists and pressed your arms up over your head. Stretched along the bedspread he gnawed at your neck, his tongue lashing out along your skin in attempt to get rid of the other monsters smell. You wriggled beneath him with your legs grinding along the sides of his bare hips while he drove down against you, panting at how rough he was handling your form.

Your breath caught in your throat, moisture building in your eyes as he kept your body elongated while grinding himself right against your sensitive folds and with each roll forward his loose slacks would slip down a bit farther each time. Whimpering loudly beneath him another crash of thunder reverberated into the room, clashing with his looming power that sparked outward and filled the room with a deep pressure. The electricity pricked at your skin as he gave another hard rock forward, earning another light cry before you stammered his name.

He panted against your flesh while he begrudgingly released you. His eyes were slightly opened, the white glow of his pupils shimmering down across your face while you muttered up to him with a chuckle, “Jenny says to _'ease the fuck up'_ because she doesn't want a broken friend..”

The scientist paused his motions, his manhood throbbing against you through the fabric as he spat, “fuck her.”

Laughing you met his gaze, he looked completely serious but you still couldn't help but to feel giddy at his response. He could still surprise you with his answers and behaviors even though you felt you had a good understanding of the scientist. With a sharp upward tilt of your chin he took your hint and the both of you closed your eyes as rumbling echoed through the flat, your mouths parting to only start the war of your tongues lashing at each other in a fight for dominance. He was winning. Pinning your tongue with his own he growled, his hips giving a few good rolls forward against your wet, aching sex.

He shifted his grip on your wrists, firmly holding you with one hand while the other trailed down and tucked underneath your lower back as you focused and summoned a pair of hands. He seemed clueless to them at first until one of them snagged his pants and boxers with it's bony fingers and with their help he kicked off the fabric but you weren't done yet, your eyelids fluttering open as he pulled away to pant just as you directed the other hand to snake up against the front of his throat and gripped at him. He let out a gasp, groaning against the restraint at his neck as the hand pushed him back away from you while the other dipped down his twitching abs.

His eyes opened widely as he snarled down at you, his gums glistening in the sudden crash of light that broke through the windows. You weren't sure how long you could hold this magic for, your heart pounding wildly in your chest as the bony digits dug into either sides of his neck just below his jawline and squeezed. His white eyes sharply shrunk as he stared at you, his anger deepening. The Lich's brows furrowed while the other summoned hand trailed downwards to explore. It was unusual for him to not be using magic during your current row though you were unsure if he was even thinking at this point as he fixated on you beneath him, the other hand gently gripping onto his shaft which only made him genuinely release a guttural tremor that originated deep within his body.

His claws dug into your back as you teasingly arched your body for him, rolling your hips as you gazed up at him with a light pant pushing through your chest. You were truly testing him, his eyes becoming nearly pin prick sized as you had to focus on your ability to hold him above you even though he pressed his full body weight against the restraint. His growling had begun to sound garbled, his muscles twinging tightly as you concentrated on the summoned hand to begin stroking along him slowly.

The scientist had enough of your control, with a thrumming shock wave of magic from his soul the hands of yours faltered before shattering into a haze of white sparkling dust that swirled around the both of you as he snatched up your neck and shoved you down once more. His hand tucked further beneath your lower back, forcing your form to arch at a harsh angle which drug out your groan against the pounding thunder. His hips jerk back as he adjusted himself above you before pressing his hot, girthy cock at your entrance. Your slit was slick yet he was too urgent, sending a shudder through your back with a gasp as he thrust forward to bury within your small frame.

He didn't bother to quiet you down, only spurred by your noises as if you were begging for him. His hips worked at you, forcing your walls to stretch to accommodate him with a deep burn spreading through you. He rolled forward a few more times, hardly backing out as his snarls shook your muscles and infested your blood with adrenaline. It felt as if he was going to break the skin at your neck, weakly you pleaded with him, calling his name with a shuddering whine as he bucked forward and earned a jolt through your legs as he rammed right at your sweet spot.

His eyes rolled in his sockets as you writhed beneath him, accumulating a high at how tight you were paired with your cries he allowed himself to soak in this moment. He held you on the precipice as his hips gently pulled back to only thrust forward, pushing your body upwards to only repeat this action as his shaft worked through your clenched, fluttering walls while his jaws held you tightly to the bed beneath him. The feeling of those bony fingers at his throat did him in, his aggression meeting it's apex as his desire overwhelmed any scrap of coherent thought.

Perhaps it had been a bad idea to work him up further. Your hands clutched into the sheets above you as he finally brought you to the limit with that familiar pressure building in your gut. He never seemed agitated by your small anatomy but tonight was a different story, his body weight was behind his thrusts as he seemed to be truly testing your boundaries. A sharp tugging at your gut being paired with the grinding working along your body, your breath carried a slew of groans while your legs shook at his sides.

Your trembling did nothing to settle him, he found himself entranced as he moved within you. Focusing on your whimpers, your moans and the way your breath shuddered through your heaving chest he kept his pace forceful. Even with his fangs pressed so deeply to your skin with his tongue coating your tender flesh, he could still faintly smell that monster at the roof of his mouth and it drove him mad. He had known this scent when he first met her and it never bothered him, though now it sparked against his rigid spine and drove with his movements as he rammed further within her. An agitated snarl weaving through his throat as he was denied fully being able to fully hilt though it didn't stop him from trying.

Your eyes were clenched shut, a cry choking from your tight throat as he worked through your tensing and edging body. The muscles all along your form were tightening as he would grind and shove just right through your frame, striking jolts of electricity up through your spine and before you knew it his harsh fucking pulled a winded cry as you pushed your head back and shuddered. His claws scratching down your back, stinging your skin as you came against his throbbing shaft and with a few more eager thrusts a reverberating thunder burst from his chest and cracked through the air as he lodged down against you. With your eyes rolling beneath your eyelids you could feel him pouring into you. The hot sticky mess dribbling out across your thighs and slipped down your ass as he pressed heavily into your cervix, you whimpered at the stabbing pressure that mixed with the waves of bliss slipping through your body.

His mouth twitched against your flesh, his heavy breath beating against your form as he leaned himself deeply against you while he finished. He kept his hips pinned tightly against you while slowly pulling his jaws from your neck, earning a soft cry from the sensation through your labored panting. The heaving of his chest matched the rumbling of the storm outside as you fluttered your eyelids open and peered up at him, your eyes widening. The skin against your neck was aching as you took in his features, your heart feeling as if it would burst as his eyes were tiny dots within his narrowed sockets. His jaws hung open hungrily with his black gums glistening from the amount of tar-like drool clinging along his jagged, pointed fangs.

The magic within you was twisting, contorting and set a deep pressure over your limbs as he was transfixed on your eyes. Holding each others gazes you began to realize you were very literally staring into the eyes of a Lich, a real monster who looked like he wanted to devour you whole. He hadn't intimidated you in a long time, but now your insides were squirming as the seconds ticked by and he lowered his face down to yours. His breath was hot and violent as it beat across your form with his teeth hovering above your lips as you swallowed.

Trying to get a handle on your own breathing as your high faded you murmured raspily, “G..?”

You truly weren't sure if anybody was home, his features remaining wild as a deep throaty growl pressed from his vocal cords and bared down against your face. Gently you pulled at your arms against his grip, it took a few moments but his digits twitched and loosened to allow you to free your hands and carefully brought them down to cup either sides of his trembling jaws. His sockets narrowed further at your touch, your own deep panting hitting back against his bared obsidian gums as a rolling crack boomed outside and startled you. As you jumped he released a loud snarl, his arm beneath your back pulling you to him while the other shoved down beside your head as he loomed himself over you with his eyes jerking out over the room to the windows.

This reaction settled you, trying to relax against the ache deep within your stomach while his seed stung you wildly. Slowly you edged your fingertips up along the sides of his face and jawline while he remained focused on the room itself, learning that this must be him being immensely protective. An idea struck you as he growled once more, the vibrations working through his entire form and caused you to writhe beneath him with a panting moan pressing through your throat. You really had to concentrate as you summoned forth the hands again, fumbling with them in the dark as you grabbed onto the folded comforter at the end of the bed and dragged it up over the top of you both. It caused the Lich to twitch and bare his fangs further until he realized what was happening and settled down, his jaws beginning to close as the heavy fabric draped over the both of you. Encapsulated with the heavy fabric he let out a grunt, it seemed to have helped simmer him down with the both of you not so exposed.

Applying pressure to the side of his turned cheek you pulled his attention back towards you as his sockets eased up while you cooed, “look at me..”

He obeyed, blinking a few times until his pupils grew to their neutral state while his jaws finished closing though he still seemed greatly agitated. Carefully you kept a hand at his face while the other pressed to the back of his neck as you whispered against the tempest outside, “ _we_ are okay.”

The statement didn't really land with him at first as he watched you carefully, his muscles felt like they were on fire from how pent up he was. The gentle touches of your fingers slowly began to ease and unwind his figure, carefully pulling his face closer and edged your fingers up against the back of his skull while you tilted your head up and pressed your brow against his. An odd sensation flared in his chest and stomach as he stared into your assuring gaze, a deep exhale pressing through his body as his muscles softened.

Whispering you held his eyes with your own, “I don't know what it is.. but when I'm with you I know I'm always going to be okay.”

Another flash of lightning burst through the room and illuminated the side of your face as you spoke, barely getting drown in another roll of thunder that made you shiver, “I can take on the world with you..” lightly you giggled, causing his lips to fade into their neutral thin line as his sockets eased up, “even if you don't like all the foods that I do.”

A soft smirk cracked along his features, his voice rugged from his snarls, “my dear.. I'm not sure you take in the best things..”

Lightly wincing you nodded, rotating your hips and caused him to shudder as you murmured, “I noticed.”

That made his smirk grow as a puff of air pressed through his jaws, though he kept his hips planted against you regardless. Gently tilting your chin up you brushed your lips over his mouth tentatively, carefully humming behind your teeth. He opened his jaws eagerly but you teasingly drew back with a light smirk tugging at your lips, your teeth barely showing as he blinked and eased down to you to only be rejected with another gentle press backwards. He huffed again, the sigh caressing over your jaws as you lightly giggled and felt him adjust down to better reach you. The pressure in your gut alleviating as he had no other choice but to back up from the height difference, you only teased him one more time before he hovered there and made you come to him.

The tension between you two dissolved quickly as you pressed your lips up to him a few times before opening up your mouth to curiously slip past his rows of sharp teeth. He was almost hesitant at first but warmed up to your soft caressing as he met you in return, another light sigh pressing into your mouth as you ran your hands out over his shoulders and stroked along his strong neck. A fluttering burst through your chest as the Lich also felt those familiar tugs within him, his anger crumbled to these sensations and were replaced with a cool ease while his magic fizzled out of the air.

You noticed the pressure broke off in the atmosphere though the static from the storm continued as you tossed your tongue along his with the rain hammering against the side of the building. The gentle calls of the storm didn't startle you as much as you basked in this moment before finishing you your final touches, breaking away with the soft peck of your lips and set the back of your head against the sheets. You stared up at him with a light smile as you whispered, “You feelin' okay now, G..?”

He ran his tongue across the back of his teeth, his breathing a slow rhythm as he lightly nodded. Your smile grew as you pressed, “..care to explain how you feel..?”

“At ease,” he murmured.

You just laughed airily and nodded, it seems he only had certain words for whatever he was feeling at the time but you would take them over him not saying anything. Shakily you drew your legs up on either sides of his hips as you continued, “would you like to hear what happened today..?”

He didn't respond but instead slid his hand up against your shoulder blades as he rolled you both so he could lay on his back with you still straddled on top of him, your leg draped up along his waist as he kept you tucked against his lap with his hands resting over your spine protectively while the comforter weighed against the back of your neck. Hovering above him, your fingers against his neck, you spoke down to him gently, “Okay.. but you have to tell me about your day too..”

“Why..?” he muttered, his eyes lazily meeting yours.

“That's how this game works, I say something then you have to say something..”

He didn't like this idea of this game as something else was on his mind. He carefully slid a hand down to your side, gripping at your waist and ground you down against him deeply to earn a harsh shudder through your back while your sensitive walls were pushed at.

His voice trailed up to you as a pant broke through your throat, “how about you remind me what my name is..?”

“J-jack ass..?” you smirked teasingly, his back slightly arching to shove you down against his lap with a harsh pressure jabbing into your stomach. Your eyelids fluttered as a groan slipped from your mouth, your fingers gripping onto his shoulders as he purred.

“Try again..”

Raising your hips up you grinned down to him, your lips parted as you inhaled about to speak but he merely tightened his claws into your hip and pressed you back down heavily. A jolt shocking through your sore body with a choked gasp pulling from your lungs, he kept his eyes on you while your eyelids closed. A shiver trembling through your body a his shaft gave a heavy throb within you, his job wasn't quite finished yet.

You knew he could be a passionate creature but hadn't expected him to be this eager tonight, a flash of white light flickered into the room just as you opened your eyes to see him gazing at you in a familiar way. As you were getting lost in his expression a loud booming echo shook the windows as well as yourself, anxiety building in your chest as you shivered and his expression dropped. With his brows narrowing he pulled you to lay down against his chest, tucking your face into the crook of his neck while his jawline rested above your head as his eyes panned to the window. The blinds were open and he could see further flashes of light sparking up through the torrent.

The affectionate act brought a smile to your lips as you panted though the harshness of just how deeply he was wedged inside of you, a new arousal rising in your form as he protectively held you against his tattered broad chest. With a soft whimper your hips found themselves grinding down to him, his sockets twitching as his eyes began to close. The movements were slow and deliberate as you took lead, gently rising and pressing your hips along him easily while your knees were braced against the bed. As you went your breathing picked up against his neck, stirring a purr from the monster as he relaxed against the mattress to the sound of rain beating against the windows.

Eventually he slid his hand back down to your waist, keeping you tucked against him while he bent his knees and rolled forward as you slid back into his lap. A shudder struck violently through your body, his motions were all the more noticeable from the gentle burning coating your thighs from his sticky black essence. He took his time, enjoying the tightness around his shaft accompanied with your trembling form grinding along his chest.

You were both broken from your moment at the sound of your phone going off on the floor beside the bed, your ringtone was gentle but you still felt a trickle of irritation in your soul as the Lich gave a grunt. With a sigh you pressed up from his chest, his hand still laying against your shoulder blades at you blinked off across the darkened room and spotted the rectangular blue light illuminating through the fabric of your pants in a heap on the floor. Gently you lifted a hand and focused, nearly grasping his magic before he suddenly shoved you down into his lap. His cock ramming harshly against the back of you and sent a choking gasp from your throat as you shuddered, your fingers twitching in the air as he hummed with satisfaction.

You could feel yourself building back up but instead just sat up further on him, pressing your weight against his lap as you took the comforter with you. The heavy blanket draped over your waist as you locked onto your jeans and quickly summoned a bony apparition to grab the fabric, hauling it on over onto the bed beside you. The magic dissipated as Gaster gave a heavy roll of his hips within you striking that hard pressure in your gut as you bit down another moan and scrambled to pull the phone from the pocket of your jeans, tossing the fabric aside as you read the Caller ID. The song was beginning to fade as you quickly answered and glared down to the Lich, though he only developed a heavy smirk.

“H-hey Toriel-” you shuddered, his claws digging into your flesh as you eyed him and mouthed with a stern glare, _'you better not even_ _ **think**_ _about it.'_

Oh, he thought about it plenty. He watched with great amusement as you quickly lifted your free hand and bit into it, closing your eyes as he thrusted up against you while his claws drug down your hips. It was so hard to choke down the noises drawing in your throat as Toriel spoke gently through the receiver.

_'You all right..? We have candles in case you need them, I'm not sure how long this power outage will last.'_

Gathering yourself you cleared your throat as another thundering boom pressed from outside, the Lich carefully easing his hips away as you tried to sound normal, “y-yeah, it really shouldn't be longer than a few _h-hours-!_ ”

A hard shudder ran through your back as he had only brought you down heavily against his lap, that pressure bordering on pain within your gut as he eased his hips away and trailed his hand from your back to your waist and gripped onto you tightly. He fully planned on controlling how you were situated on top of him.

_'Oh, dear are you okay..? Maybe you should come over here-'_

“I-i'm fine!” you hurried, not wanting them to dare come over here right now just as the Lich dropped your hips down against him again. You had no choice but to bite onto your hand once more, your teeth were imprinting into your flesh as you stifled a moan. Toriel did not seem convinced as she began to quickly speak.

_'Just relax, I'll send Frisk and Asriel to get you-'_

“N-no! S-seriously I j-just tripped,” you tried to laugh but your hand was in the way, the Lich only deepened his smirk as he rolled your hips down into his lap and ground heavily throughout your form.

Trying to gain your composure you hurriedly stated, “I-i'm all right Mom I promise-”

The woman paused on the other end, you could hear her voice soften as she spoke, _'y-you wish to call me.. mother?'_

You froze. Your panicked expression meeting the mischievous, amused grin on Gaster's face while his white eyes trained in on you. Luckily the man stilled his motions, seeming to be listening himself as another tumbling of thunder permeated the flat from the storm.

“Y-yeah.. you take care of me and I really appreciate you Tori- _el_ ” you squeaked, the monster having deeply rolled back up against you without warning as he spread his legs a tad farther and brought his knees into a higher bend, “sorry, I just made it to my room safe and sound!”

He felt you were doing an absolute shit job at keeping yourself together, it made him laugh as you glared to him. His rolling chuckle pressed through the air as he kept you pinned against him. You hoped to god she didn't hear him as she airily giggled.

_'All right, my child. Please, do not be afraid of coming over if you feel scared.'_

“O-of course,” you chirped, the Lich giving a powerful lift and slam of your hips onto him as you gasped and bit back onto your hand with your eyes wide. Freezing as you realized a squeak strained through your throat into the receiver.

_'Don't worry, it is just thunder.. it can't get to you if you're inside.'_

You nodded, a tremble coursing through your body as your muscles tensed though quickly you let go of your hand and shook it out beside you as you finished, “thanks Mom, I'll call if I need you. Goodnight!”

You held the phone clear out from your face as you heard her also say goodnight before swiping your thumb over the end call button just as he eased his motions. You threw the phone across the room and turned your gaze to him with a hard glare, hissing as the device clattered across the floor, “you just like to see me squirm don't you?”

You just watched him shrug, his fangs peaking out from his mouth as he lazily gazed up to you. You slapped your hands down onto his chest, narrowing your eyes at him as he just simply opened his jaws and ran his black oozing tongue over his teeth. Angrily you rocked your hips down along him, a pant pressing through your chest as you held his gaze and worked his throbbing shaft through your aching walls. Tearing your fingertips against his hide you growled, the Lich's claws dug heavily into your skin as he arched his back once more to press as deeply as he could with each roll.

Irritated and reaching your peak you leaned over him as your back strained and arched under the motions of riding him, you could feel that sparking itch at the back of your mind as you both built back up to the edge once more. A tender growl wove through the monsters throat as his head tilted back, leading your hips down harder and harder against him as a cry burst from your throat. Your legs a trembling mess as he pushed you closer and closer, you didn't even notice your phone lighting up with a chime across the floor as he hiked up his knees a bit farther and brought you down violently to his lap.

That final thrust shot a shuddering, aggressive wave through your body. Nearly toppling over as a cry evolved into a scream just as thunder shook through the building with lightning flashing wildly through the window, your limbs couldn't support you from how intense this climax was. Quickly he reached a hand up to your back and pulled you down against his chest just as you bit onto the crook of his neck as hard as you could, another cry being muffled against his dense flesh as he groaned and rolled his hips up against you as he joined you in sweet bliss.

He continued to grind along you, riding the both of you out as another wave of his acidic seed burned and coated through you. It ignited another deep exhale from the Lich, his moaning hiking your senses before he finally held you still against him. His flesh was hard between your teeth, making your gums ache which forced you to slowly let go and instead lay panting against him. Sweat dripped down your form as your muscles unwound leaving you relaxed and sedated, you hoped to god he was satisfied. You didn't know if you could go another round.

Coming off of your high to the sounds of the rain mixed with the light panting of the monster beneath you a slight smile tugged at your lips while you began to flick open your eyes. Feeling beyond sore and spent you managed to carefully tilt your head up and found him staring at the ceiling, his white eyes seeming to study something as he blinked with his brows scrunched. There was a tugging at your heart as you watched him, inhaling his masculine scent as you carefully drew a hand up and stroked along the side of his neck with the backs of your fingers. This stirred the Lich, his head gently rolling towards you and met your gaze as your smile grew.

As he watched you a smile of his own pulled at his maw, that familiar feeling growing in his chest as his stomach tightened. A soft trickle of light fluttered into the room before a softer roll of thunder sounded out over the city, he found himself agreeing with her statement from a few days ago. Her gentle voice seeping to the surface of his memories.

_'I don't know what that was.. but I liked it.'_

A light wince took over your features as you adjusted on top of him, your legs still shaking. Your hips felt incredibly sore.. not to mention the burning ache driving within you. Sensing your discomfort he carefully ran his hands down your body and gripped up beneath your thighs as he lifted you off of him, a gentle gasp shook through your chest as he popped from you but allowed you to settle back down against him as you panted. He kept a hand clutched just beneath your ass as the other grabbed the heavy comforter and pulled it back over the top of you, settling his hand beneath the warm sheet right between your shoulder blades.

A few moments of silence passed before you gathered enough of your mind to lean up for him, his head turning more so to allow you both to gently kiss one another. With a soft sigh you broke the final row of light affection as you murmured, “G..?”

He hummed, flicking his white eyes over you as your head lay back against his shoulder and kept eye contact, “..remember when you said something about how our souls are bound together..? And that it only happened when monsters.. pro-create?”

He blinked at you before a deep chuckled wove through his chest, wrapping his arm further around you as he muttered, “my dear.. are you worried about breeding?”

The way he said that made you shiver, your smile faltering as you whispered against the noises of the rain, “I hadn't really... thought about it until now.”

He leaned his head back to look up sleepily at the ceiling as he spoke, your eyes trained onto him, “in order for monsters to create offspring both parents need to combine parts of their souls, that energy is fed into the mother with conception.”

Worry began to build in your chest, your fingers twitching against his neck while he huffed with a smirk crossing his face, “it is a deliberate act and requires the sharing of soul energy from both participants.. I don't like sharing.”

You lightly laughed, resting your hand flat against his chest as you murmured, “you share plenty with me, G..”

His smirk hitched higher as he glanced over to you, facing you once more at he muttered, “with you my dear.. that is a different story. In order to breed properly I would have to distill my soul for another life, the idea of assisting with the welping some sprog is not in the forefront of my mind.”

A burst of laughter came forth from you at his choice of vocabulary, it took a few moments to settle your fits as you giggled, “well that's nice to know, Gaster..”

He huffed lightly, fading into a hum as he turned to face the ceiling once more. Listening to your giggles as he swallowed and then murmured lowly, “children are not my strong suit.”

“It's okay, G..” you murmured, your eyes closing, “I feel the same way.”

Sore, aching and yet so satisfied you lied there with him and listened to the rain outside. Another roll of thunder pushed into the flat though you didn't jump or get startled by it, the Lich's hands pressed into your back as he breathed deeply and closed his eyes as well.

The scientist basked in his inhale. She smelt just how she should.. though her scent was so gentle compared to his. He felt her souls energy well up inside of him, brilliant and shimmering while his dark magic circled it like a pack of sharks. Interestingly he backed off his magic, letting her soul's energy flicker and shed naturally while he relaxed in her warmth instead. Recovery would be easier on her without him feeding from her, he'd allow that only for tonight.

As you settled into him, your breathing evening out, he began to think once more. While her scent was reclaimed and she laid with him currently an itching prodded his mind, taking his train of thought back to the skeleton. The Lich knew the monster was irritated that he could no longer have her, it hadn't been the scientist's intention though clearly Sans was holding it against him as he had to point out his thievery at every chance he got. It was petty and never stuck with the scientist as he had more important matters to attend to. Though as he listened to her breathing, felt her heart beating against his deadened flesh, his fingertips pressed into her skin along her back to hold her form tighter to him.

He had never felt these deep sensations within his body, within his mind. It was more than sheer desire or responsibility now. It was entirely new. He never was one to become attached and his violent intimacy normally prevented any sort of needy behavior from his partners throughout his life, he preferred it that way. He probably wouldn't have even cared all that much if Sans managed to bed her a month or so ago but now the mere suggestion boiled the magic in his veins, he wouldn't let Sans get comfortable like that around her any further. Her voice broke through his thoughts.

“I know what you're thinkin' about, G..”

He hummed, not bothering to look over to you as you murmured, “I handled it, you don't need to say or do anything to him.. okay?”

He didn't respond to you, his sockets gently opening as he stared back at the ceiling with the light flashing of lightning striking through the room. Just as the thunder began to roll once more you sighed and pressed your brow to his jaw, breathing in his skin as you murmured, “what happened between us is for Sans and I to work out.. you don't need to get involved in that mess..”

His eyes glanced down to you as you sighed and muttered, “it's my fault anyways..”

“That he touched you?” he breathed, his sockets narrowing slightly.

“No-” a puff of air broke through your sentence as you opened your eyes and stared at the black gash creeping up his neck, “why is that even a big deal?”

The Lich thought for a moment, unable to find the words you decided to try prodding as you went on, “does it make you uncomfortable that he's physical or that you're afraid I'll not want to see you anymore?”

Blinking the scientist furrowed his brow, he hadn't even thought of the latter being an option. A twisting pulled at his gut as he imagined the scenario while you waited patiently for a response he just could not formulate. As the minutes ticked on you realized you were speaking on emotion again and tried to rephrase your question, “let me put it this way.. do you feel he is a threat to me..? Or to you?”

The rephrased inquiry rolled better in the Lich's mind though he didn't feel either way about the skeleton. His train of thought was broken as he felt his chest warm to the gentle touch of your fingers trailing over his neck. Picking a word he huffed and stated, “neither.”

Absorbing his response you felt through your mind before picking the next question carefully, “.. do you feel he is a threat to _us_?”

Perplexed he murmured, “us..?”

“Yeah,” you spoke softly against his neck, feeling over a thin scar with your fingertips at his shoulder, “like when we hang out or do things together. Do you feel as if he would somehow.. disrupt that or change it to where we don't see each other as much or in the same way?”

“He could try, my dear..” the Lich spoke darkly, his hands pressing tighter to your back as he wrapped his arms further around you. As he held you tenderly a yawn slipped through your throat as you slid your hand up along his neck and rested it there, feeling him breath but he had no semblance of a heart beat. It was always difficult to try talking to him about emotional matters, he just never seemed to be able to grasp or put into words what he was feeling.. if he was feeling. Yet you knew he definitely was feeling something for him to have been triggered so heavily by the thought of Sans touching you.. he wasn't threatened but it still made him angry. You landed on the proper word for it, jealousy.

A light laugh pressed through your chest as you closed your eyes once more, the Lich giving a curious hum as you smiled before replying, “you like me.”

Smirking ever so slightly the scientist closed his eyes as the weather raged on outside, a harsh contrast to the relaxed atmosphere of the both of you lying together. He didn't respond but you didn't mind, knowing he wasn't that great with sentimental gesture and just absorbed the moment instead. A few minutes passed before your phone chimed across the floor and you sighed, a snort huffing through the scientist as he muttered, “who is trying to message you at this time of night..?”

Smirking you replied, “probably Jenny.. she always floods me with messages.”

“Ah.. the human whom requested that I 'ease the fuck up'.”

Laughing you nodded, the scientist grunting as he gently rolled the both of you onto your sides with your back to the phone nestled across the room. A soft moan pressed from your lips as you both resettled, slipping your arm around him with the other was tucked up to your chest, your legs lightly shook as you tangled them with his feeling brilliantly sore and messy. The thunder outside hardly bothered you as you were trapped against the large monster who let out a deep exhale and purred, his throat and chest vibrating.

Just as you felt sleep draw in you murmured, “I'm serious about being nice, G..”

“Mnn.. my dear, I am nice.”

Pausing you just giggled and whispered, “that is by far the funniest thing I've ever heard you say.”

He thought so too.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew!  
> Well that was exciting.   
> Next bomb will be within the next week, I'm not too far into the next chapter so it mainly depends on how much time I get to write as I seem to be writing fucking long ass bombs of 40-50 pages. 8)


	9. What is LV?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans tries to apologize though a black lab coat on the floor throws him for a loop.  
> Meanwhile Alphys tries to understand Gaster's motives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, two chapters today and the last will be out tomorrow.  
> I'm pretty nervous about this chapter because it's a lot of.. jealousy. I know some people really got uncomfortable when we went down this familiar road in TAM just because it's Sans. Keep in mind this is a dark themed fic and his personality type is far from canon yet is consistent in this world.  
> Hope you guys enjoy.

It was still raining when you opened your eyes, your back against the monster with his arms tangled around you. Slightly confused you hazily looked across the dark room, the gentle pattering of rain against the windows was calming but you could tell the wind was still blowing fiercely outside. As you studied your gray surroundings and allowed yourself to fully wake up a light caught your eye, glancing over to the wall to see your phone laying right side up with the screen illuminating in a notification as a chime rang out. Sighing you just ignored it, closing your eyes and nuzzling back into the sheets with the heavy monster's breath brushing over the top of your head.

Just as you were about to fade away the cell phone let out another blip, cracking an eye open to glare at the device and with a sigh you lightly pushed your arm out from beneath the heavy sheet to summon a hand. The feeling was beginning to become natural as you picked up the device and pulled the apparition to the bed, reaching your hands up through the Lich's muscular, tattered arms you took the device and squinted at the screen. As you were processing the notification the screen went black, rolling your eyes you unlocked the device and went to your messages to bring up your conversation logs. There were notifications from Frisk, Jenny and Sans.

The light from your phone didn't even bother the scientist at your back, it seems as if he was still completely passed out. You tapped on Frisk's name and pulled up the log to come face to face with a selfie of the kids hovering over a row of candles. Asriel looked spooked but Frisk had a large toothy grin on their face. You smiled as you scrolled down and found another picture, it was the door to your apartment with a brand new candle sat outside of it and Frisk gesturing with a thumbs up to the camera. Shaking your head lightly you read the time on the message and discovered it was right after your phone call with Toriel, you tried to not think what would have happened if they decided to waltz inside.

You quickly began to text up a response as the monster behind you exhaled in a slight growl, his muscles contracting while his arms tightened around you before he snorted and relaxed again. Your smile deepened as you finished up your response, _'haha, crazy storm last night huh? love you dorks <3'_

Moving onto Jenny's texts you had to blink a few times and scrolled through her lengthy story of what happened during her date the other night. She went on to say that right before they were supposed to go out it began to pour so they spent the night at her place and while your friend was excited and you were happy for her you didn't entirely feel like reading her narrative on what a good kisser this guy was. Trying to not laugh you skimmed through her story where she eventually ended up asking you to come meet him, she felt like dinner would be a good option and she even tried to plant in your head to bring Gaster. That was laughable. As you responded you had to remind her that it probably wasn't a good idea to be in public with the large monster in a dating atmosphere but you did want to meet this 'Jake' so dinner would be fine just the three of you. 

Her messages were always so long winded as she agreed to that but while Gaster was brought into the conversation she flirtatiously teased you about your  _'boyfriend'_ and insisted that he better be nice to you or else. An airy chuckle pressed from your lungs as you quickly texted back,  _'what are you going to do, fight him?'_

_'Tell him to bring it, haha!'_

You shook your head as you giggled and typed, _'3 pm after school. Be there or be square.'_

Right as you hit the send button the scientist snorted, you could hear his jaws grinding as he slept and tried to not giggle as he ducked his face down towards you and breathed in deeply before blowing the hot air out against the back of your neck. It was incredibly rare for you to be awake before him so you just soaked in it, listening to the rain outside as you tabbed out of that conversation and to the last one from Sans. You were.. expecting something else.

_'* first time paps has seen a thunder storm'_

Your gaze softened, quickly typing up,  _'Awe.. I guess it stormed hard by you guys..? Asriel seemed pretty scared too.'_

You tabbed out as Frisk sent you a response, merely a smiley face. You grinned at the message and told them you'd be over in a few hours after their political meeting. They responded with a flirtatious winking emoticon.. you really hope it wasn't insinuating anything as you tabbed out and back into the conversation with Sans as he had already replied.

_'* nah, he wanted to stay up and watch the storm. haven't seen his face lightnin' up like that in awhile. '_

You tried to control your giggles as the Lich exhaled deeply, stirring. Your fingers flew across the screen, typing up a response as he flicked open his sockets and tightened his grip on you as he yawned. His sharp teeth glistening from the light of your phone as you texted, _'I hope you didn't rain on his parade and watched it with him.'_

Realizing the Lich was awake you lowered your phone and tilted your head over to him as he pressed his brow against your temple, a rolling reverberation pushing through his chest and throat as you murmured, “morning handsome..”

A smirk cracked over his mouth as he grumbled across your cheek, “sunshine..” 

Gentle flutters rose in your chest as you lightly chuckled and nuzzled your skull against his, your phone's screen lighting back up in your hand with another incoming message. The scientist squinted and turned his gaze onto the device in your hands, adjusting himself to peer over as you turned back to the phone and read the next message.

_'* of course. Though he didn't seem to care for my punderous jokes.'_

_'Hey, puns are te-mpbest'_

That was so bad you nearly cringed, Gaster huffed at your back as you sent it and dropped your hand slightly while peering over at him, “come on.. that was funny.”

He heavily rolled his eyes while drawing in a breath, holding you tightly against his chest as he fell backwards and took you with him. A squeal pulled through your throat as he rolled you over onto the other side so he could look out at the windows as the rain kept coming down. Shivering at the change in temperature from the sheets on this side of the bed you wiggled up against him further, absorbing his body heat as you got another new message and opened it up. Gaster's eyes drifted down to the device as a selfie of Sans popped up on the screen, he looked beyond tired sitting on the couch with Papyrus slouched on the other end asleep. The lanky, taller skeleton managed to still have his head propped up on his hand, wearing a baggy hoodie and sweats while Sans was just in a white t-shirt and his shorts.

The Lich hummed as he peered over the image, even though he had been so irritated the other night at the mere thought of the monster he felt nothing seeing the two brothers on the screen. You squinted your eyes as you noticed the background and quickly typed,  _'why is the couch facing away from the tv?'_

_S_ ans responded nearly instantly with another picture of the view from his position, straight out of the window covered with rain drops looking over the city. Eyes wide you studied the image, it really was beautiful. While everything was gray the lights of the city shimmered through the darkness and haze, you tried to locate some kind of landmark as the scientist pulled his eyes back up to the window. You gave up on your search and typed, _'damn that's gorgeous, I thought you guys lived in the city not on the side of the mountain.'_

His response came quickly,  _'* it's just a small place. we wanted tori to have it but she didn't like bein so close to asgore. you could visit sometime if you want.'_

Smiling you quickly responded,  _'rain check on that, Jenny wanted to show off her new boy toy to me this weekend.'_

After you sent the message you peered back at Gaster, following his gaze to the window and smiled as you relaxed your arms and watched the water streak down the glass through the blinds. An idea sprung into your mind as your fingers quickly worked through your phones programs to your camera, angling the device as to not alert the Lich you leaned your head up against him. This pulled a light smile from him as you took the sly picture. Hovering your finger over the capture button he hummed and tilted his face down into your cheek, his eyes closing as he breathed in and you took a few more quick pictures as you nuzzled each other lightly. Unable to help yourself you turned your face more towards him, smiling softly as he reflected your peaceful expression. A fluttering took over deep inside of your chest, in sync you both breathed in and hovered against each other in a silent kind of affection.

Eventually he began to stir so you quickly exited from the camera without looking, flicking your eyelids open to catch his gaze. Your lips tugged into a deeper grin as the rain trickled through the atmosphere and pressed your mouths together, the light touch of your lips to him tightened your gut and when you pulled back his breath brushed across your face. There weren't any words worthy of breaking this moment and he agreed, dipping his brow against your temple caused you to giggle as your head rested back down. His affections were unusual yet you knew they were honest, your smile staining your lips as he stretched his arms around you further to press you against him.

Lying there, feeling one anothers energy in the midst of the storm, was oddly poetic. It brought you to a place of serenity, feeling his chest rise and fall against you with his breath caressing across your neck. His eyes were drowsily focused in on you, the soft amount of light radiating into the room from the windows colored the room in cool grays yet your skin was glowing. While he blinked he began to come to a conclusion, watching as your eyelids fluttered and you gazed back up at him through the corners of your blissful eyes.. he didn't feel like going back to work. It was a blasphemous thought.. yet he agreed with it. 

You caught him staring at you again, it sent a pulse of energy through your soul as it seemed he wasn't just observing you.. he was  _seeing_ you for all that you were. Bringing an arm up you ran your hand over his uneven forearm and gripped onto his wrist as you held his strong limb against your chest. A light yawn stretched your jaws as you set the phone face down on the sheets while he slipped a strong leg through your delicate thighs, tangling back into him your eyes closed once more. Drifting in this calm during the storm.

 

The morning was spent casually, just the two of you. Though as time went on you both began to really wake up and began to talk softly back and forth. Gaster seemed much more relaxed and even open as you got him to talk about work. He wasn't much for detail but he did tell you the plan for the next phase of getting a cure underway, you didn't really understand his explanation but listened anyhow. 

Eventually you did have to get up and found the effort laughable, clutching to your phone in one hand while the other hovered to steady yourself. Your body was incredibly sore and wobbly though as you stood, stepping gently across the floor while watching your footing you noticed black stains coating your thighs and with a gasp you turned to glare at him. Lying on his back, hands behind his head, he was smirking so heavily the tips of his canines glinted in the low light.

“You serious right now?” you breathed.

“Mmn, my dear.. black looks good on you.”

Grumbling you meandered on over to grab a change of clothes, using the light of your phone to guide you, “of all the colors you had to have black magic..”

He hummed as he bent up a knee and watched you, the sheets draping over his form as his leg stuck out from the heavy comforter, “it used to be violet.”

Blinking you glanced over at him, finding him basking in his pride you just smirked and shook your head as you went back to your rummaging through your options, “what happened there..?”

“The void, my dear,” he replied, your fingers pausing in the soft blue light of your cellphone as he went on, “I also used to be a skeleton.”

“You mean.. you've had those scars and everything before.. you know?”

He nodded with a light hum as you turned around, hugging your clothes to your bare chest and leaned on one hip, “doesn't that.. feel weird to have a different body?”

“This form is stronger than my last, I do not mind so long as it holds together.”

Blinking you cast your gaze down, remembering how he really looked when you first met him.. broken and melted. It felt like years ago as that same creature was laying in your bed.. How strange life could be. You shook off the thought and spoke up as you stepped to the door, “so I guess you're gonna be at the lab all day?”

He shrugged, blinking at you slowly as his expression fell to his neutral one. 

Laughing you steadied yourself against the door frame, “that doesn't look very enthusiastic.”

A gentle smile pulled at his mouth, his eyelids drooping as you nodded to his 'enthusiastic' expression and murmured with a wink, “sexy..” you began to slip down the shadowy hall to the bathroom with his eyes trailing on after you as you projected over your shoulder, “if you hear something akin to a mugging don't freak out, it's just me.”

He shook his head lightly, a chuckle pulling through his lungs as he closed his sockets and relaxed. He still had awhile longer and he may as well bask in the scent of the sheets, his eyes closing as he listened to the gentle rhythm of music playing from down the hall. For such a small device it carried nicely.. though he began to think as he felt her soul's energy pulse along with the mellow beat. While she showered he lived in the moment, drifting off in his thoughts as the music filled the flat. As the minutes ticked on his eyes opened once more, his smile remaining on his face while he vanished to get cleaned up himself. He was much too large to fit inside of her small bathroom plus he had something to do.

 

Luckily those black stains weren't too hard to get off of your skin, even if you were showering in such low light. The hot water eased your muscles and while you were expecting the pain to be so much worse in your body it was tolerable and you actually felt invigorated. Humming along with the music playing from your phone you tried the bathroom light again but found the power was still out, with a sigh you decided to meander on back to the bedroom dressed in baggy sweats and a tank top. Blinking you glanced around the find the Lich gone and just shrugged as you straightened up the sheets and crawled back into bed, sighing as you set the phone beside you and fell flat on your face into the pillows drenched in his earthy tones.

 

***

The scientist was at the machine plucking away at a brand new set of commands. Within the vat there was a gooey white blob hovering in the center of the soul fragments, he'd need to let the base components of a monster soul absorb this energy over time under the right conditions to give the fallen enough of an energy kick without overloading them. The Lich was unsure if all would survive this treatment but it would at least save some of them which was better than losing the entire ward. A humming vibration tickled at his waist from within his coat pocket, his mind subconsciously drifting to this new idea of his just as Alphys pushed open the door to his office and scrambled inside.

“M-morning-” she broke off as her claws ticked against the cement as she came up beside him to the machine, adjusting her glasses as she gazed up at the vat, “o-oh.. y-you al-already s-started..”

She blinked as Oliver landed on her shoulder, the Lich turning towards her and gave her a blank look as he spoke, “Doctor Alphys, I have something in mind for you..”

Nervously she brought her clawed hands together and nodded, bracing herself as he took his time choosing his words while dipping his fingers into his coat pocket. Curiously she watched as he held a vial out to her, the cap twisted on firmly though she gasped as she realized what she was seeing. Inside of the glass was a yellow glob of sparking, shedding energy. Her eyes bolted up to him as he kept his hand extended and murmured, “recreate the project you assembled for me.”

“W-with he-her s-soul? Wh-what ha-happened?!” she panted, her form trembling as the Lich held still and observed her. The moth on her white lab coat skittering over her shoulder.

He figured she wasn't asking about the row of intimacy, “Doctor, you do know how her soul reacts to music.. correct?”

Raising her brow she tentatively took the vial from him and looked down at the glob of bright yellow energy, murmuring as she watched the substance churn within itself, “h-how d-did you..?”

He ignored her, looking back to the machine as he tucked his hands behind his back, “I would like to see what would happen when this energy is bound by a device connected to her cell phone.”

Only becoming more confused the woman tightened her grip on the vial as she looked up to him, “b-bluetooth..?”

The word had no meaning to the Lich, his white eyes bouncing back down to her while he kept his flat expression. The woman took a hesitant step forward, “y-you.. yo-you w-want to m-make her a.. a w-wireless s-speaker?”

“Indeed.”

Excitement grew within her as she slipped the vial into her coat pocket and nervously pressed, “w-what's th-the occasion..?”

Gaster blinked as he watched her, speaking softly, “is there supposed to be one?”

“W-well..” a blush drew on the woman's face as she cleared her throat and attempted to explain, “wh-why d-do you w-want to m-make her t-this..?”

“She would enjoy it,” he replied.

The blush only grew on the woman, confusing the scientist as he continued, “there are a few more hours left of this exposure process before we can begin distillation. If you would, Doctor Alphys, I have already begun assembling the electronic work which is already in your office though the vat containing the soul will have to be designed with the frame. I leave that to you.”

“D-do..” the woman choked on her words, deciding to gently ask the question as he eyed her, “d-do.. y-you w-want to g-give her this b-because y-you.. l-love her?”

Level of Violence..? The Lich had no idea why LV would have any connection to the girl and the way she asked him perplexed the monster. This reflected in his expression, his undamaged brow slightly raising while his mouth remained in it's hard line. Alphys stammered as she felt incredibly awkward, “s-sorry th-that w-was p-personal-”

His brow only raised further, observing the woman as she was beginning to sweat and turn flushed in the face. Alphys suddenly spun around and waddled across the room, practically bleating as she pulled open the door, “I-i'll g-get ri-right on it!”

Gaster blinked rapidly a few times, his brow drifting back down to it's relaxed state as the woman rushed back to her office with the moth perched upon her coat. The Lich could read her souls energy and discovered she was feeling overwhelmed, stressed and yet so excited all at once. He shrugged off her odd behavior and dismissed it as just the odd ramblings of an intimidated associate, something he'd experienced many times. While she was designing the casing it would allow him to continue working alone for a few more hours if not for the rest of the weekend.

As Alphys hurried down to her office she checked in with her ward patients, their levels had been stable the past few days yet she still had her staff check and monitor everyone. Slipping inside of her work space she couldn't help but feel giddy inside. The dark mysteriousness of the monster compared to the compassionate and glowing personality of the girl was too fascinating in her mind as she got down to work designing a box and cover for the speaker. Gaster had already assembled all of the electrical work and it was clean, spot on and rather impressive.. she wondered just how early he had been here doing this.. As she got to work she began to smile, this project was right in her comfort zone.

 

***

 

After dropping Alphys off at the facility Sans landed in the main hallway between flats, his sockets more strained than usual from his night long observations with his brother. Papyrus had been so happy and adamant it was a good distraction from the animalistic urges having welled within his own body. He was so tired in fact he hadn't even properly aimed to land in Toriel's flat as he had intended though as he glanced around and found a fresh white candle at the front of Sun's door his brow raised, blinking he then looked up and found the lights out in the hall. The storm must have knocked out the power..

He studied the door, remembering last night. He had been .. he had been so close. Her rejection was hard to shake, he had wrestled with himself all night about it. Sighing he figured he may as well apologize, he didn't have the guts for it this morning over text. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth from the joking thought as he waltzed over to the door and crouched down to snag up the rather large candle before rapping on the wood with his bony knuckles. Carefully he listened, hearing nothing and decided to try the knob. The door swung easily as he let himself in and glanced around the dark flat, the rain trickling down the windows as he heard Chip mewl somewhere off in the kitchen. 

The skeleton tossed the candle lightly in his hand, spinning it around as he stepped into the kitchen and placed the candle on the counter as the gray feline padded up to him and began to rub up against his legs. With a light chuckle he crouched down, scratching along the cats back to be rewarded with soft chittering. Though as he straightened back up something else on the floor caught his eye, a large heap of fabric. His brow raised as he glanced around the empty front room and took a gentle step forward, focusing on the pile before realization struck him just as Chip stepped around the large lab coat on the floor and into the living room.

Turning his gaze up he found the empty box of sushi on the counter and instantly was flooded with images of those white clawed hands dipping a piece of sushi inside of her mouth, his thumb lingering against her wetted bottom lip as the fabric fell from his body to the floor. Shuddering he shook his head and spun around, stepping back to the front door but paused. He listened to his breathing, to the rain outside and let out a deep sigh in the stillness of the flat. Sans knew the scientist wasn't here as he always beat Alphys to the facility each morning. A pull within his chest made him turn, walking around the kitchen and down the dark hallway. With each step the scent of the Lich grew.

Sans could feel his teeth building pressure as they began to divot and sharpen, his sockets turned black from the gentle music playing from the bedroom yet his feet carried him further. As he walked by the bathroom lightly smelling of daisies and humidity a thought struck him. He remembered lighting candles in there for her but he continued forward passing it by, passing forgotten memories. He soon came up to the door, it was open but not quite all the way. Carefully he pressed his fingertips into the white wood, the door swinging silently open to the scene laying before him. 

 

Laying there in the bed in the dark, music softly playing from your phone beside you, sleep managed to have found you once again. The sheets were so warm from the Lich's body temperature you had managed to snuggle up against a pillow, clutching it to your chest as you drifted in and out to the music and the sounds of the rain pattering against the window. Your lulling consciousness blocked out any notification chimes from your phone, too comfortable, warm and bathed in the scientist's earthy scent to fight your heavy eyelids. The music beside you coaxing your mind into a deeper stasis.

 

The skeleton's gaze trained on you. The rain was still coming down but the struggling light of day scattered shards of light across the bed and shimmered from your skin, the music playing from the phone resting on the mattress was gentle and only added to the overall picture. Sans found his eyes drifting, his sockets pitch black as his grin twitched and struggled as he recognized a gray turtleneck on the floor beside the bed. It was like looking at a train wreck and he couldn't pull away, noticing how her jeans were crumpled in a heap just off the side of the room and as he tried to look away he only spotted black slacks at the foot of the bed.

He brought his shaky hand up from the door to his face, slowly taking in a breath and letting it out. When he saw that coat on the floor he knew internally what happened but visually seeing the aftermath was a tad overwhelming. He shouldn't have hesitated.. he should have tried one more line, one more touch.. A hazy feeling flooded his mind as he let his hand drop, stepping into the room and around the far side of the bed by the windows he trained his eyes down to you while his fangs gleamed in the low light. A wave of familiarity broke through, even with the scientist's heavy scent staining the air he found his frustration simmering at the sound and view of your gentle, slow breathing across the pillow you were laying against.

Carefully he brought his free hand up, his fingertips twitching as he reached out but then stopped. Tightening his jaws he held his bony fingers above your bicep, staring down at your form before he shook his head and took his hand back. He turned to leave but hadn't expected the cat to have followed him into the room, Chip gave a startled mewl as the skeleton nearly tripped over the feline which then bolted out of the room and tore the carpet as he dashed. Standing frozen in place, kicking himself mentally he heard a gentle voice behind him murmur drowsily.

“Sans..?”

His sockets closed at that, it was too late to just vanish now..

 

Lightly moaning you sat up and pulled your hair from your face as you stared at the back of the skeleton, processing what you were seeing, “what time is it..?”

Beginning to wake up you realized it was still dark, it was still raining and the skeleton wasn't moving or saying anything though you were no stranger to silence as a form of reaction. Carefully you shifted around beneath the comforter and sat up fully with an inhale, stretching your arms with a satisfying popping in your back that made the monster shudder as you groaned with your heavy exhale, “sorry, I'll get up so we can go over to Toriel's.. guess I just fell back to sleep without meaning to, didn't think the meeting would be over that quick though..”

Pushing the pillow out of the way you looked back over to Sans, expecting him to say something but he refused to turn around to look at you. Sighing you carefully swung your legs over the edge of the bed and spoke drowsily, “you don't have to be embarrassed around me, Sans..”

Expecting the worst he slowly turned around, his black sockets and strained smile facing you while your gaze softened, sitting on the edge of the bed while the both of you were soaking in the shattered bits of cool light from the streaming windows, “don't worry, I get you probably wanted to talk too before we head over so..” you swiped up your phone, shut off the music and carefully stood up from the edge of the bed.

Sans watched you carefully as you lightly stepped over and smiled, “living room..?”

He nodded, you were drenched in that stench that forced his sockets to remain black. His sharpened grin straining as you curiously blinked at him and pocketed your phone into your baggy sweat pants. Your odd look finally moved his feet as you followed him from the bedroom and to the living room, the flat was dark but the struggling sunlight still managed to illuminate your washed out surroundings especially in the living room with the windows being as big as they were.

The both of you padded on over to the couch which he hesitantly sat down in his old spot while you took the opposite corner and faced him. He noticed how slowly you sat and tried to not think about it yet more images ran in his mind of your fingers scratching down his white, ridged back as you spoke.

“Look.. don't worry about it, okay? I know we had a bit to drink-” you were cut off as your phone started to ring, blinking wildly you looked down and pulled the device from your pocket and read the screen while Sans just stared off into space towards the television. You hit the lock button on your phone to ignore Jenny's call, she could wait.

“Sorry..” you looked back up to find the skeleton uneasy, sweat building up on his neck as you sighed, “Sans seriously..”

Your teeth began to dig into the inside of your cheek as you watched him just stare off into space, his form rigid. Thinking for a moment you realized the last time you sat on the couch together like this had been so long ago, you shook off the memory and carefully edged up closer to him. That definitely caught his attention as he turned towards you though his sockets were still black, “are you okay.. ?”

He couldn't find his voice, this was all wrong to him. If he had possibly taken one extra step last night the morning could have been so much different, it could have been how it should be.

Noticing his shocked behavior you inched a tad closer and murmured beneath the sounds of the rain, “look you don't need to be embarrassed around me, we've been through a lot and nothing changes that.”

As he looked at you he could only see those damned bite marks contrasting on your skin in the low light, even as you were speaking he could see the doctor sinking his fangs in from behind to lock his eyes with the skeleton in his usual 'all knowing' expression. It began to piss him off.

“Earth to Sans-” you waved a hand at him, noticing how fixated he was becoming as his canines were beginning to divot and sharpen fully, “I thought we were passed the staring at the mark stage.”

“you should get it removed,” he muttered. You let your hand drop, staring at him in disbelief as he went on, “you reek.”

It took you a moment to process what he was saying, his sockets pulling up to focus on your face as his canines began to fully form in his straining maw. Monsters and their sense of smell.. it was something you were guilty of forgetting though you only just sat up straighter, a leg hanging off the side of the couch with the other tucked beneath you. Folding your arms slowly over you chest your gaze hardened to the skeleton, “maybe I like  _reeking_ .”

Sans held his gaze with you though now his grin was pulling into a frown, his brows narrowing as you went on, “you don't want to hear it but here you go, Sans. I like him. I like being around him and I like  _smelling_ like him.”

A growl was forming in the skeleton as you held your chin high and kept eye contact with the black pits of his sockets, “there. From the horses mouth-”

A soft chuckle broke off your words as he turned to face you fully, mimicking your position as he leaned forward, “act like a bitch..”

Your eyes narrowed as he continued to deeply laugh, an uneasy feeling rooting around in your chest as he leaned in closer though you held your ground. He was hovering mere inches away as his jaws began to part and he spat, “get fucked like a bitch.”

“That was already done for you.”

The words slapped him right in the face, his sockets twitching as his breath beat across your face. He was nowhere near the same type of intimidating at the scientist and you knew he wouldn't actually do anything, the longer he hovered there the more of a mouthful he would get of the Lich's scent and it eventually drove him back away from you as you muttered, “you want to mince words with me Sans you better go in guns blazing because I'm sick of you two fighting each other because of me when clearly you guys go clear back. You're just using me as an excuse to hate him-”

“you have no idea what you're talking about-” he growled.

“He told me what happened and you told me what happened.. the truth is usually in the middle of two sides of the story.”

You stayed resolute, the scientist having rubbed off on you as you kept eye contact with him and stayed firm with your words, “I'm sorry for what happened to you guys, I'm sorry for what happened to us too.. but I'm not sorry for my decision to stay where I'm at right now. You both are so jealous of one another-” the word stuck with the skeleton, his sockets easing up as he listened to you, “-you two have shit you need to work out and it won't be over me because I wont get stuck between the both of you anymore.”

A few moments of silence passed by before Sans leaned back, his fangs fading as he murmured, “..jealous?”

Sighing you nodded, “he was so pissed off last night-”

“why? because we fuckin' went out?”

“Because of what happened at the door,” you sighed, “I forget you guys have strong senses of smell, but what happens between us is our business and not his.”

Blinking slowly the skeleton's white pupils popped back into his skull, his canines melting into a neutral grin though on the inside he truly mulled this information over. It was much easier than he realized to irritate the scientist.. so much so that Gaster had felt the need to fully smear his scent all over her so heavily. Patience.. he could have patience. 

“At this point I have no hope for you guys getting along but please stop poking at him all the time, Sans. The last thing I want is for you two to try killing each other over something so stupid as me.”

He lightly chuckled, drawing confusion from you as he muttered, “you aren't stupid.. haven't we gone over this before..?”

A light smile cracked over your lips, remembering how he had to ensure you that you were all right after being tricked by Flowey multiple times. Another call came in on your phone but you just clicked the lock button to ignore it and shut off the tone without looking as you spoke, “I'm serious though, cool it.”

He shrugged which only earned him a good shove into his arm as you huffed, “promise me, Sans.”

He didn't respond, though his smile grew while his eyelids drooped. Gasping with irritation you inched closer and grabbed onto his shoulder as you whined, “Sans I swear to god..”

“sure, kid.”

“No, an actual promise..” you begged with your eyes, gently blinking your lashes at him as the rain continued to patter and slip down the windows, “you can half ass everything else but don't half ass shit with me..”

“babe.. you know i give you my all..” he purred, winking as you just laughed and shook your head, keeping eye contact with him as he muttered, “all right.. sure thing, i promise.”

He was expecting you to remove your arm but what you did instead surprised him, you simply fell forward, wrapping your arms around his neck as you embraced him. Those marks of yours glared him right in the face with the scientist's scent digging at his nostrils but he simply brought a hand out from his jacket and tucked it around your back. The warmth of your body made his expression soften as he looked away from the marks and the side of your face while you muttered, “don't call me babe.”

“you got it, dollface.”

Laughing you pulled away though his hand slipped from your back slowly, his bony digits getting caught on the fabric just as your phone began going off again. Curiously he stuffed his hand back into his jacket as you answered the phone and brought it up to your face with slight irritation.

“Jenny what the fuck do you want?”

She gasped deeply on the other end, pretending to be offended as you looked across the room to watch as Chip sat down in the hall and blinked at the both of you,  _'you bitch you were ignoring me on purpose, I knew you were cheating on me!'_

“Yeah, I'm cheating on you with Sans..” you sighed dramatically, “I just didn't know how to tell you so I thought this was the best way to handle it,” you purred, grinning widely as Sans' eyes drooped further. He hadn't expected to hear those words today but he enjoyed them regardless.

_'Well it's okay I was cheating on you too-'_ you both giggled as she went on, the skeleton could slightly hear her through the receiver,  _'is dinner tonight all right with you? Sure you don't want to bring mister dark and brooding?'_

Laughing you focused on the conversation, Sans relaxing on the outside yet his curiosity only strengthened as he listened, “he'd probably eat the waiter, Jen.”

_'True but that way we wouldn't have to tip!'_

Snorting you just pulled a hand up to your face, trying to simmer down your laughter as Jenny went on,  _'why don't you bring Sans since you're cheating on me with him?'_

“Oh I'm not so sure-”

“sure thing,” he spoke loudly, Jenny laughing on the other end of the receiver as you shot him a nervous look. You really didn't want a repeat of yesterday but he merely winked at you as she pipped up,  _'great! It's a double cheat date thing then. We can ditch them later for icecream.'_

“Yeah I'm sure Sans will love his date with Jake,” you cooed, winking at the skeleton as his sockets went black.

_'Oh yeah he's a cutie! Well they both are cuties but I'll have to show you a pic Jake's got the most gorgeous eyes girlie.'_

Sans shook his head, his white eyes popping back into his skull as you giggled and nodded while speaking, “sure thing.. you said around six tonight right? I guess we will just see you over there.”

She agreed with you before you both hung up. With a gentle sigh you leaned back against the couch and looked over to Sans, “guess we gotta get over to Toriel's and help out right?”

He shook his head, “nah they haven't even left yet.”

Blinking you scrunched your brow and then gasped as you phone rang out with a message notification, “they're gonna be late, Sans!”

“nah.”

“You seriously came over here first just to talk to me?” you laughed, pushing your hair from your face as you checked your phone, pulling up an image Jenny sent with the skeleton watching you.

“it's been rainin'.. was missin' the sun,” he smiled as you just shook your head.

“Smooth..” you held the phone up to him, grinning as you showed him the image of a young gentlemen with amber eyes and short hair. Sans froze, studying the familiar face as you spoke, “save it for your date tonight.”

You realized the skeleton was fixated on the screen so you held it out to him, he brought a hand back up and took the device as he examined the man. It was the same guy who had glared the both of you down on the side of the street after sushi.. it made him feel uneasy.

“You recognize this guy or something..?”

“maybe..” he huffed, shrugging his shoulders and held the device back out to you. He wasn't entirely sure why the man had glared the both of you down but it wasn't worth going into until he knew more.. which he would discover later tonight.

As you tabbed out of the image and sent Jenny a quick text Sans stood up from the couch, pulling your gaze from the device to him as he murmured, “six tonight right..?”

“Mnhmn,” you breathed, stretching your legs over the cushions, “she's going to tell me where at in a bit after she talks it over with him, he sounds nice.”

“yeah..” the monster murmured, mulling over the hardened stare of the other night as he reached for his magic and glanced over to you with a smile, “pick you up around six, dollface.”

Opening your mouth to speak he merely just winked at you before vanishing, sighing you shook your head and nestled back into the couch. That conversation went better than expected but it seemed he was still being a major flirt as if that rejection last night was just a challenge but if that was his way of leaving Gaster alone that was all right with you, you knew how to push his buttons back. 

As you brought your phone up to respond to Jenny the lights suddenly snapped on with a loud clicking that startled you heavily. A hard breath hitched in your throat as you barely managed to catch your phone from the jump, squinting in the bright light of the room as a shadow cast down across your form. 

A growl erupted from beside you. Jolting you looked up from the couch to find Gaster looming over you, his bright eyes flicking over the sofa as if looking for something.

Processing what just happened you raised a brow, continuing to squint and blink, “G..?”

The Lich gave a snort, his gaze turning back towards you as he remained silent. It all started to click as you realized he was sensing your gut reactions to the environment, he had felt those all this time but since last night he was beginning to become over protective.

“G..,” you laughed, waving a hand as you settled back into the couch and tried to get accustomed to the brightness of the room, “I'm fine.”

The Lich inhaled deeply before sharply blowing the air out through his tight jaws, hovering further over you. Gasping lightly you waved at him, trying to get him to back off but he wasn't phased, “okay don't you dare start sniffin' me, the lights just startled me when they came back on that's all.”

His next exhale was shaky as a growl worked up in his throat, towering over you and met your eyes with his dilated ones, “he was here.”

“So?” you huffed, laying your hand down over your abdomen as he hovered over you. The brightness of the room was starting to bother you, your rapid blinking eventually led to closing your eyelids as he continued to taste the air above you as you went on, “we're friends it's no big deal.”

Thankfully the lights shut back off, sighing you opened your eyes to glance around and caught the sight of a bony summoned hand hovering over the light switch before vanishing. The Lich's velvety voice murmured down to you, drawing your attention up to the monster, “my dear.. you let me know if he becomes  _too_ friendly.”

Smirking you just nodded with a sigh, gazing up to him as you spoke, “that wont happen.”

You watched as he straightened back up and glanced about the room, you quickly spoke up as he reached for his magic and gave him pause, “by the by, I'm going with Jenny later tonight to meet Jake so just relax big guy. You don't need to worry about me, okay?”

The Lich turned his flat expression towards you, silent. You gathered he wanted to know more so you went on, “he's supposedly her new boyfriend or something, she's pretty excited about it so I couldn't say no.”

With a slight nod the Lich threw himself through the void back to his office while you just nestled into the couch and reached for the remote on the table lazily, being too far away you summoned a hand to bring it over to you. Grabbing for things across the room with these things was truly the greatest thing about using his magic by far, it was time to be a potato for a few hours. As you turned on the TV it was already pulled up on the news, blinking you read the headline  _'Magic blocking.. terrorism or personal defense?'_ . Cringing you quickly brought up your streaming app, you didn't want to know right now. If it was something serious the others would fill you in.

 

***

 

The fact she were going out tonight was good news to the Lich, it would allow him to not only finish his work for that day but also nearly finish the speaker for her without her souls energy leveling out. He hadn't wanted to filter her magic out of him but he figured the payback would be greater than the invested, his skin felt itchy without her golden energy fully encompassing his soul as it should. Allowing her soul to heal her body was a smart move though with the added withdrawal it left him feeling odd, he had grown accustomed to her sparkling aura and with such a low amount of it left within him he felt extra cautious with her.

Smelling the skeleton in the flat had rubbed him the wrong way and that translated into his magic as he stood back in the office, lost in his thoughts. Of course he was used to smelling the monster, though he hadn't expected to experience it already encroaching in on his territory so soon after laying claim. He wouldn't have to wait long though, Sans was always ready for some kind of petty argument and he would show up.. and when he did.. a  _discussion_ would certainly be had.

As he turned his attention back to the machine his office door pushed open as the yellow monster padded inside, grinning widely with a device in her claws. He slowly turned his gaze to her, Oliver flicking on the lapel of her white lab coat as she crossed the room and handed the box out towards him. The Lich summoned a hand to take the device from her, his eyelids drooping as he studied it. She worked much faster than he anticipated, the box was rectangular with a rather contemporary style yet had a digital display and color changing LED's shimmering along the bottom. The middle of the device had been separated by an acrylic insert which held the pulsing and shedding yellow heart of the girl's soul energy.

“D-do y-you th-think sh-she'll l-like it..?” Alphys stuttered.

The scientist didn't respond at first, directing the hand to set the device down on his desk before he glanced to her and murmured, “it will suffice.”

The woman blinked at him rapidly, nervousness taking over as she brought her hands up and laced her fingers together as the scientist took a few steps towards the wall mounting the machine on it. As he lifted his hand to direct another command a thought popped into his mind, he had nearly forgotten to water his other alternative theory about social constructs. Just as she was about to turn away he spoke once more, “would you like to be here when she sees it, Doctor Alphys?”

“I-if th-that's a-all right..”

“Of course,” he murmured, focusing as he was attempting to further liquefy the monster soul within the vat as the shards sunk down into it. Absorbed into his work he had forgotten about the mention of LV from the woman as she brought up a few more suggestions that would be worth trying with the cure, while this would have otherwise irritated him he found himself more calm and relaxed as they lightly talked about the process. She had much to learn about human and monster souls, though she had ideas on upgrades for the machine itself and the scientist agreed to let her add a secondary vat so they could attempt two different strengthened doses for those monsters not of strong souls to endure the full administration. 

She was so sure on saving them all.. she would learn that not all can be helped but he humored her, it wouldn't delay their schedule anyways.

 


	10. That's my Jam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Jenny's boyfriend though Sans is convinced there is something.. off about the man.  
> Back at the lab Alphys makes more of a presence with the serum project, having impressed the Lich enough to do so.

While it had been nice to be a couch potato for a bit, relaxing and enjoying the sounds of the fading rain you eventually did get up and get changed around five thirty. Toriel and the gang hadn't come back yet but you didn't really feel like watching the news to find out what was happening now, it always just upset you and today started out nicely.. you didn't want to get all stressed out more than the slightly irritating venom spitting you and Sans shared. Honestly, you were just thankful that it worked and got him to back off as you really didn't want Gaster to take matters into his own hands. You played music from your charged phone as you got into something nice but comfortable, Jenny wanted to try some Italian place and pasta didn't sound half bad. 

Just as you were about to leave your room you spotted clothes bunched up on the floor and felt a little flush, that's why Sans had acted so badly.. you hadn't even thought about it. Quickly you picked everything up and folded the scientist's nice clothes while tossing yours into a corner, you set his things on the dresser before heading out. As you stepped back to the living room, your phone in your back pocket, you spotted Chip laying on top of a heap of black fabric on the floor in the kitchen. You shooed him away as you crouched down, gathering up the heavy material and hoisted the coat up to dust a few strands of cat hair off of it. 

Smiling while you held onto the cloth, gazing at the fabric still soaked in his smell, you held it to your chest for a moment before folding it up and set the coat on the counter just as Sans popped into the room. He was about to speak but noticed what you were doing and remained silent, your hands resting on top of the fabric as you smiled and shook your head with a murmur, “gotta stop leaving your shit here, G..”

Chip chittered by your ankles opposite of Sans, you turned and looked down to the cat as he rubbed up along your calves, “yeah Chipper, you yell at him for me we already have one of these things here.”

Smiling you reached down carefully, scratching along the cat's back as Sans stood there awkwardly. Her voice trailed into his mind as he watched the way her hands were so gentle on the material.

_'maybe I like reeking'_

He thought about just redoing his entry but carrying that many people through the void all day was exhausting, he didn't have much time to convince himself to do it anyways as Chip trotted away from you and to the living room. Scoffing in fake offense you stood back up and spun around, your back to the counter as you suddenly jumped and gasped. Placing a hand on your chest you let out a breath and laughed, “Sans.. oh my hell.. how long have you been there?”

He just shrugged as the cat twirled between his legs affectionately, mewling for his attention as you leaned back against the counter and smiled, “you know he really likes you more than anybody else.”

Sans lifted a brow as you nodded, your smile growing, “they say animals can sense the good in people.. guess you've got the most over anyone else but it's a close call with Frisk.”

The cat paused, lifting his head up to sniff at the skeleton's shorts before trying to rub his cheek against the edge of the fabric. You lightly giggled as Sans cast his eyes down to the cat who noticed his gaze and arched his back up with a gentle, grumbling meow. 

He lightly chuckled, hiding his discomfort as he leaned over and hooked a finger underneath the felines chin as the cat roughly pushed into his digits at the affection, “guess i'm just a pussy magnet.”

Laughing you pushed out from the counter just as he stood up straight once more and gave you a wink. You lightly hit his arm with the back of your hand as you passed him by and to the door with your scent carrying on after you. The smell stunk but he followed anyways as you stepped into the hallway and locked the flat before meandering out onto the street and took in the fresh air. It was rather warm and damp but the clouds were finally starting to break up which was a magnificent sight, shattered rays of light peppering the streets as you both perused down the sparse, wet sidewalk.

The restaurant wasn't too far off, one of the perks of living within such a populated city. You lightly talked with Sans as you walked, it felt great to be outside but for some reason Sans seemed more tired than usual as he watched the streets. As you both came up to the restaurant his eyes caught onto a kid with a hoodie walking towards you, his face downcast while white ear buds were shoved into his ears. Just behind him were Jake and Jenny, laughing as they held hands and fell in step with one another. Jake was wearing some type of faux leather jacket with a cloth hood and jeans while she was in jeans and a flannel green shirt, she even curled her hair for the occasion. 

You slowed your approach, Sans falling to your crawling pace as you both watched the kid turn around with the call of his name from Jenny, “Dennis!”

With his back turned your friend then spotted the both of you and waved to you, a smile forced itself onto your lips as Jake looked up and grinned towards you as well. You were seriously wondering why Jenny would think it was a good idea to bring Dennis, with or without the Lich coming along with you. For some reason you thought of just turning around and running, the last thing you needed was another scene.. though Sans kept walking forward and you stayed in stride with him, his presence helped settle you. 

Carefully you spoke up clear behind the kid, saying a simple hello to try to warn him to your approach. He froze, his shoulders going rigid. He didn't have to look behind him to know who you were. Dennis shoved past the two in the opposite direction but before he could tuck away down the street Jake turned, shock taking over his features and placed his hand on the kids shoulder as he walked him down the street to speak with him privately. 

You and Sans stepped up to meet with Jenny timidly, your gazes cast down to the interaction between the teen and Jake. They were too far away to hear, especially with Jenny pipping up and struck up a playful conversation with you though Sans still strained in an attempt to listen in as you were dragged into a discussion with the woman.

 

Dennis was trying to contain his gut bound anxiety, listening to his music as Jake spoke down to him in a hushed voice while pressing his hand into the boys shoulder blade, “listen man I didn't know  _she_ was Jen's friend..”

“You're lying..” the teen muttered, “I told you I'm not playing along with this shit..”

“Well, believe me or not it's okay if you just want to go home.. Jen will understand.”

The boy shook his head, a light sarcastic laugh pulling at his throat as he jerked his shoulder away from the man's hand and muttered, “whatever.”

 

Sans had his eyes focused on the interaction, something didn't feel right. He watched as the man pulled his cellphone out from his pocket and tapped on it before lifting the device to his face, observing the boy as he walked away before speaking carefully into the phone. The two girls around Sans were obscuring any shred of information he could possibly overhear but it didn't stop him from keeping his focus.

 

Jake murmured lowly into the receiver, “hey.. Dennis bounced.”

_'I had a feeling he would.. that thing show up..?'_

“Nah.. it's the skeleton guy,” he glanced over his shoulder, noticing the monster was staring lazily right into his eyes from down the street. He knew the thing couldn't hear him but turned his face back towards the end of the street to watch the boy duck around the corner, “you sure the ghoul bit her..? Maybe it was the ske-”

_'No way, the proportions are all off remember..? Plus Jenny said to prepare yourself for a large monster showing up.. there's only one explanation for that.'_

Humming gently the man blew a puff of air through his nostrils, spinning back around to walk back to the group with a smile and his head lifted as he spoke loudly, “all right, catch' ya later. I think he just wasn't feelin' too hot today in general.”

_'Stick to the plan.. we can still test it on bonehead.'_

The call disconnected yet the man still kept his cool, speaking with a light laugh into the phone, “all right talk to ya later.”

 

Sans kept his gaze on the man while you looked up and genuinely smiled as Jake slipped his arm around Jenny and nodded to the both of you, tucking his phone into his pocket as he spoke, “heya, sorry about that. The kid has just been feeling under the weather recently.. Nice to meet you,' Sunshine', is it?”

He grinned as you laughed and extended your hand, he reciprocated and kept eye contact as you stated your real name but then added on, “but my friends call me Sun for short.”

Letting go of your hand Jake extended it to Sans who casually clasped his bony hand to his, they both gave a firm shake and let go as the skeleton drawled, “name's sans.. sans the skeleton.”

The man gently laughed as Jenny leaned into his side, she was always one for public displays of affection as he spoke to Sans, “ _tibia-onest_ it seems to me like you're a pretty  _humerus_ guy.”

The skeleton lightly chuckled as you blinked and held back your giggles as you looked over to Sans while he spoke lazily, “seems as if you've got a  _funny bone_ yourself.”

“Jen told me about you guys, it's all she ever talks about.” 

He seemed like a nice guy. Jake must be good friends with Jared's family and it was a kind gesture to bring Dennis but you were seriously wondering what Jenny was thinking to allow him to come along, you'd have to drag her into the bathroom for fifty questions on that stunt. 

Jake continued with his spiel, “should we head inside? You've gotta try the garlic chicken, it's wild.”

 

Sans made sure he was the last one in, holding the door for Jake so he could duck inside. The skeleton's bones were itching, he knew this guy seemed normal on the outside but there was something else going on.. something off.

As you all got to the table you nabbed Jenny's arm and smiled, “hey, wanna come with me to freshen up real quick..?”

She blinked at you but then nodded, smiling to her boyfriend as he nodded to her while sitting down across from Sans. As you walked to the back of the building you gave Sans a glance over your shoulder apologetically, he met your eyes knowingly as you both ducked around a corner. You'd make this fast.

As you and Jenny walked into the bathroom you quickly checked the stalls to make sure you both were alone as you sighed and leaned against the counter. Facing Jenny while folding your arms you spoke up, “why did you guys bring Dennis if you wanted me to bring G..? Not to mention that kid is super terrified of me too..”

She blinked at you, closing the distance as she kept her voice down, “I would never have allowed Jake to bring him along with us if I knew you were bringing Gaster..”

So it was his idea.. your expression softened, he must really have been bothered by the way Dennis had been recovering. Jared thought he was being bullied at school and it was a sincere gesture to try to make him feel better.. a twinge of guilt gnawed at your gut.

Jenny continued sweetly, “Dennis has been doing a lot better, he comes into work with Jared now and then and he's such a sweet kid..”

Sighing you nodded, allowing her to continue, “I figured if he got to know you a bit more he would relax. I thought it was the nice thing to try to do for him..”

“Yeah but I mean he flipped shit when he saw me at the store, Jen.. I don't think that's something a relaxing dinner can solve.”

“Maybe it could!” she chirped as you sighed, Jenny's kindness could be a bit too naive, “he doesn't talk about what happened but he's not nearly as fidgety or jumpy as he was, he could be ready for that next step you never know. Plus Jake reaally wanted him to tag along.. how could I say no..?”

“I think it would be better if you prepared him for it next time at least..” you murmured, it seems they both just wanted to do the right thing for the teen.

She nodded, smiling sheepishly, “all right.. I see your point. I think you'd like him though he is a really nice kid and looves music just like you.”

You tried to force a light smile, this was a guy that stalked you for a week and put pictures of you on the internet that began a vicious cycle of awkward interactions in public.. you weren't going to forget something like that but perhaps in the future, if Jenny was still going out with this guy, you'd have a somewhat patched up relationship with the teen. For now though that wasn't really on your mind, you had enough things to juggle at once. 

Your friend noticed your silence, watching as you chewed the inside of your cheek as she sighed and folded her arms, “He did a dumb thing for a few bucks, what teenager doesn't do something like that..?”

You let out another sigh as you brought your hand to your face and calmed down, “yeah Jen, I get that. I just don't want to deal with another scene you know..? All this weird attention from strangers makes me feel uneasy.”

Jenny frowned as she stepped forward and pulled you into a hug, a genuine smile forming on your lips as you hugged her back while she spoke, “sorry girlie.. I'll be more sensitive next time.”

“It's okay, just prepare me for it too at least,” you lightly laughed as she nodded and pulled away with excitement turning her grin to a toothy one.

“Soo? Isn't Jake dreamy?”

Your friend was so giddy to talk about this guy as she stepped away and you couldn't help but to nod, he seemed like a good person. After you shared a few compliments back and forth you figured you should go back to the table hoping Sans wasn't pushing Jake's buttons like he enjoyed doing to Gaster.

 

Making your way back to the table you found both Sans and Jake laughing, it kind of took you by surprise as you sat next to the skeleton and Jenny plopped down across from you as she sat as close as possible to Jake. The guys already ordered a round of waters for the table and you were fine with that, popping into the current conversation as you heard Sans speak gently across the table, “so you've been to grillby's..?”

“Yeah,” the man grinned as you just blinked in bewilderment, “best burgers and fries in town!”

The waitress came back to ask you ladies if you wanted anything else but you were fine with water, she had a few checks to run but would be right back. As she left Jake spoke up kindly to you, “so.. Jen was saying something about how I should be prepared to meet this tall guy..?”

He turned his gaze to his side, smirking playfully at Jenny who giggled and patted his arm, “Sans' isn't tall enough for you?”

Lightly laughing he looked back to the both of you, there was something so vibrant about his personality and the way he would look you in the eyes with his amber ones that made you feel comfortable. He was so easy to be relaxed around as he carried his voice genuinely, “I mean the way you were building me up I was expecting a werewolf or somethin',” he leaned a bit across the table to Sans while lowering his voice, “she always can be a bit.. dramatic.”

Jenny gasped and slapped the side of his arm lightly, she was smiling so brightly as she defended herself while he straightened back up in his seat, “I am the perfect amount of dramatic, aren't I Sunshine?”

You could only laugh and nod as you replied, “just the right amount of flare, Jen.” 

As the waitress came back she listed off the special which was some type of noodles with mushroom cream sauce, you just went with that and Sans agreed while Jake ordered for both him and Jenny. It seems as if he'd taken her here before, you had to admit he was pretty smooth and had a good personality. Although you did notice the way Sans was staring at Jake, you glanced between him and the rest of the group and it seemed as if the man across from him was oblivious. The skeleton must have been really tired from using his magic so extensively, perhaps that explained the staring.. but at least they were getting along just fine. That was a relief.

The conversation came back around as you took a drink of water and blinked as Jake met your eyes, “though seriously who is Jen so scared of?”

She laughed and shook her head, “I am  _so_ not scared of him.”

You raised a brow and smirked, “ _everybody_ is a bit intimidated of him, Jen.”

Sans tried to not roll his eyes as he sat leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets as the man laughed and spoke back up, “gonna keep me in the dark, ladies?”

You decided to take control of this conversation, not entirely trusting Jenny with the topic as you sat your arms on the table and crossed your legs, “she was just talking about a friend of mine, he just comes off a bit rugged because he's a tall monster.”

“He's huge, Jake. Like I swear eight feet-” Jenny chimed.

“Oh my hell Jen he's like seven and a half or something..”

“Yeah because that's so much shorter,” you both laughed as Sans kept his neutral grin and eyed the group as you spoke back up.

“He's just quiet, he really isn't the scary picture Jen must have painted for you, Jake.”

You took a drink of water as Jenny grinned sheepishly, “don't you have a picture of him?”

Thinking back to this morning you held back a blush as you shook your head and lowered your drink back down to the table, not feeling entirely comfortable with being so open about the scientist around someone you hardly knew. Plus you weren't even sure if you'd show Jenny those pictures one on one, it was a rare moment.. one you wanted all to yourself.

The man then spoke gently as he picked up his own glass and winked at the both of you, “you gals don't have to prep me, I work with a lot of monsters they're all really chill.”

Blinking you asked, “oh, where do you work?”

He took a drink and hummed, lowering his glass as he grinned, “at a software development company, I manage the servers with another group of guys.”

Jake listed the company name and you nodded. You've heard of the place and shrugged off his response and turned to Jenny, striking up a conversation about her ferret client as Jake got a phone call. Quickly he set his drink down, pulling the device from his pocket and glanced at the screen before ignoring the call and set his phone face down on the table, Sans eyed the device and Jake noticed as he smiled and spoke, “what do you two do..?” 

The skeleton was silent while you spoke up, gesturing lightly, “nothing special, I babysit and Sans probably takes breaks all day.”

Sans' fixation was finally broken as he glanced over to you, his smile drawing into his sockets as he shrugged. While you were turned towards the skeleton your hair parted and showed the bite mark upon your skin, you were beginning to forget you even had it though Jake spoke back up.

“Nice tattoo,” he hummed as you turned back around and smiled sheepishly as he asked, “what's it mean..?”

“Ah not much to be honest, I got it when I was young and stupid-” Sans' grin faded to it's neutral state as you went on, the table watching you, “some hipster garbage.”

“Ah.. those online articles were trying to say that whoever had one was like kinky or something,” he laughed, you blinked curiously as you shyly laughed along. Did he not recognize you..? 

He spoke back up through your confusion, “Oh.. hey this friend of yours wouldn't happen to be the royal scientist..?”

You had hoped to avoid this conversation, you didn't know who this guy was and Sans seemed off about the whole situation but you'd much rather answer than Jenny as she started to open her mouth but you quickly dove in, “well, one of them.” 

“wait- that  _was_ you?” his brows raised in surprise as he laughed and palmed his face, “man I'm so sorry! I'm not the best with faces. I thought I recognized you from somewhere.”

Blinking you glanced over to Sans who met your gaze quickly, there wasn't a single person who didn't know who you were. Your marking was practically iconic at this point. You turned your gaze back to Jake and shrugged this off as he lowered his hand and smiled to you sincerely as Jenny patted his leg under the table and spoke up, “No worries, Jakey.”

You tried to not cringe at the pet name as he turned to her and sighed a tad before looking back to you as he pulled up his drink once more, “that's pretty cool though, it's always nice to meet a celebrity.”

You felt a flush creeping up into your face as you smiled reflexively, feeling relief as he didn't press the topic further though Sans wasn't amused. The conversation trailed on about the weather and power outages as the waitress came over with your food and you all dug in. The noodles were home made and it was so good you hardly spoke as you listened to Jake and Jenny talk, glancing over at Sans he had his plate cleaned and winked at you. You rarely ever caught him eating it was such a strange habit for him to just devour food like an animal, you had a feeling he did it for the reactions you'd give him as his smile only deepened as you shot him a look. A sense of nostalgia creeping in.

 

The conversation bounced around to multiple topics as the waitress cleared away your plates while Jake's phone lit up on the table with an odd ringtone. Suddenly something felt as if it were jabbing into the marks on your skin and you winced as Sans' sockets twitched, a high pitched ringing echoing in your ears. As Jake checked the phone casually the feeling only increased before suddenly being cut off as he locked his phone and set it back down. Slowly you brought a hand up to rub at your neck and found the flesh to be numb, your ears itching while Sans blinked a few times and muttered, “what was that..?”

Jenny blinked to the both of you, noticing Sans' lazy stare had become slightly hardened as Jake hummed in confusion and glanced up to the monster, “what was what..?” he turned his attention to you as you rubbed at the marks on your skin, looking surprised, “..you all right over there?”

Nodding lightly you grinned, an odd tingling pulling into the marks as you removed your hand, “yeah.. Just a twinge I guess.”

The skeleton had never felt something that strong before, it felt as if his magic was being disturbed from within his very body. A haze overcame the skeleton much like a drunken buzz though he struggled against it. His suspicions were only coming to a head as he hardened his gaze and straightened up in the chair with his shoulders pulled back, speaking lowly as his sockets went black, “buddy.. you got a monster hate app on your phone..?”

You blinked wildly as you looked from Sans to the man before you who looked genuinely confused, even startled at Sans' threatening appearance as he spoke, “a what now..?”

Jenny spoke up, glancing between the both of you, “where did that come from, Sans..?”

You felt your heart starting to pick up as Sans chuckled softly, lifting a brow over his empty socket as he spoke, “magic jamming..? a popular app but odd coming from a guy who works with monsters and isn't scared of them..” he blinked as his expression relaxed, his white eyes having reappeared in his sockets, “it's a bit strange, right pal?”

Magic jamming..? Is that what that was..? 

You stared at Jake, letting your hand fall to the table top as he shook his head and picked up his cellphone as he replied, “wait.. you mean people make ringtones to fuck with monsters..? Like a dog whistle..?”

He looked to Sans, sincerity spread across his face as he quickly turned the volume off on his phone and set it back into his pocket as he carefully worded, “man I'm so sorry.. I swear I didn't know. It was just off of some website.. damn, I really apologize- are you okay?”

The skeleton didn't respond, his eyes training onto the man as he struggled through the daze churning in his head. He hadn't even noticed your reaction to the ringtone, too entrenched in his own inner battle. It was as if he was close to blacking out but he was too determined to let it happen, he could feel the effects beginning to wear off though it only pissed him off further.

As the waitress came by with the bill she was tentative around the skeleton, taking pause at the tension as she held the bill to which Jake just snatched it up and dug for his wallet. You widened your eyes and held out your hand but he waved you off, placing his card in the folder before handing it back, “dinner's on me you guys.. I really am so sorry I feel like a jerk.”

Slowly Sans eased back into the chair. He didn't buy it for a second but he would play the role just as this guy was doing as you spoke up to Jake, “you didn't have to do that..”

“No, I really did,” he nodded to you, swallowing a bit as Jenny looked over the table and sighed with aggravation.

“I hate internet trolls.. I didn't know that was even a thing..”

You hadn't known either.. a nervousness crept up into your back, perhaps you should have watched the news. It seems like only you and Sans felt that.. Jenny was none the wiser and as you glanced around nobody else around you had reacted either.

The man set his arms on the table as he leaned in and spoke gently across the table to Sans, “I know it's not much man, I fucked up..” he lightly laughed and shook his head, “what a great first impression I made.”

Sans eyed the man across from him as Jenny gently set her hand on his arm, solemnly staring up at him. The skeleton was still shaking the effects of the magic blocker but if this guy was so committed to playing the part.. then so was he, “hey, we all make mistakes pal.”

Tension crept into your limbs as you bit into the side of your cheek, your neck still felt numb but you avoided touching it again. You wanted to really believe it was an accident.. you were now kicking yourself for not staying updated on what was happening in the city, you could have an actual opinion on what just happened if you were caught up on how often these things are played with. A tad unsettled you focused on the black magic containing your soul but it felt.. far away. It only made your nervousness turn to a gentle anxiety as your fingertips lightly tapped the cold glass of water before you.

The mood mellowed back out as you all talked though Sans was now more involved than you. As time went on the distance of magic in your soul wasn't really recovering, heart beating rapidly you tried to settle yourself down by breathing slowly. You did not need the scientist appearing from your stress, you coached yourself to ease up and joined in the conversation. You'd give Jake the benefit of the doubt.. you don't know what has been happening concerning this magic blocking technology, it really could have been an accident. He just seemed like such a nice person especially since he paid for dinner. 

You disguised your unease well just as Sans did as the minutes ticked on and the topics of conversation were light. Everyone cracked a few jokes and had a good laugh but as the night started to creep in you all parted ways, Jenny insisted she'd text you and you replied that you were going to hold her to it. Right as you and Sans were a few minutes in the opposite direction back towards the flat he spoke up, finally clear of the effects that plagued him at the table.

“Something's not right about that guy.”

“Yeah.. what was that ringtone..?” you murmured, glancing over your shoulder but only found the easily drifting crowd as he held out his hand. You looked down to it and tentatively grabbed hold as he teleported you both back into your flat instantly, the ride through the void was longer than traveling with Gaster and left you heavily confused as you wobbled and tried to clear your vision. You felt a black out coming on but Sans quickly caught you and held you up in his arms as you closed your eyes and waited for the dizziness to ebb away.

Grunting lightly you stood back on your own two feet, Sans slowly letting go of you but placed his hand on your shoulder just in case as you fluttered your eyelids open once more and peered around the flat as he spoke, “magic jamming is becoming an increasing problem around the area but that was not just an annoying ringtone.. his phone has to be built around a jammer for it to hit that hard.”

Running a hand over your face you muttered, “wait.. you're saying Jake is a terrorist?”

“i dunno what he is kid, but it's throwin' red flags all over the place..”

“Sans..” you sighed, removing your hand and looked to him as he let his hand fall and placed it into his jacket as you went on, “don't you think that's a bit.. harsh..? Maybe it really was just an accident.”

He blinked at you, feeling frustration build in his bones as you turned fully towards him and murmured, “I mean.. I get you're being protective and all but you do get a tad too paranoid sometimes.. why would he do that on purpose to us?”

The skeleton blinked, narrowing his eye sockets as he just laughed a bit and shook his head, “us..?”

“Uh-” 

“you tellin' me you felt that..?” he murmured, his socket's becoming hardened as you tentatively brought a hand up to your neck.

“A-a little bit..” you confessed.

He took a step back causing you to blink and drop your hand from the marks as he muttered, “he doin' somethin' else to you kid..?”

“No, Sans-” you sighed but he just cut you off.

“nah, it's all right kid. i know you like dangerous shit, don't ya..?”

Now you were getting agitated as you took a step forward while he gathered his magic, “Sans.. don't even go there..”

“don't worry.. i'll take care of it.”

With a growl you lurched forward, grabbing onto his jacket right as he teleported. Your eyes were wide open, staring into his own as the clothing on your bodies whipped around viciously. The fabric nearly tore from your hands as his sockets went wide, his left eye ablaze in a blue glow as he grabbed you and tucked you into his chest in an iron grip as the void pulled g-forced into your form and before you knew it you both had landed into a brightly lit room though you had no idea where. 

Dazed, shaking and nearly slipping into blackness Sans kept you held up. His breath was heavy against your shoulder while you were struggling to remain standing on your trembling legs, head spinning and world reeling it took you quite a few minutes to finally stop shivering and opened your eyes to only shut them again. The room was so bright and yet you could hear voices around you though they were muffled, slowly you opened your eyes again as you steadied yourself and pushed against Sans' chest. He gently let you go as you brought your hands up and rubbed at your face, groaning as he hissed at you.

_“are you insane..?”_

“I wasn't expecting you to jump like that..” you sighed, dropping your hands and squinted around the room. You were standing in an office, cluttered with cup noodles and various paperwork though your eyes fell to the desk and took in a computer with some anime screen saver and a little vat with a glowing blue heart floating within it. You were in Alphys' office..

“kid, don't ever do that shit again.”

“Don't try getting the last word in at every chance you get, asshole,” you grumbled, adjusting to the light as you took a few steps in while you looked over the surroundings.

The skeleton snorted heavily, his concern turning into frustration as he watched you look around. He couldn't bring this up to the scientist with you snooping around so close.. he made a promise but the need to protect you from the encroaching, heavy magic of the Lich was too important to ignore. 

“Why are we in Alphys' office..?” you murmured, taking in her geeky decorations.

Sans sighed behind you, clearly irritated yet he answered, “it's time for me to take her home, you shouldn't be here.”

Blinking you turned to look at him but he was looking at the door, shadows passing by the foggy glass window as you huffed, “why not..?”

He remained silent as you followed his view to the door and your heart began to beat rapidly. This was the lab, not just an office.. you were in the main research facility that was taking care of the fallen monsters. Curiosity took over as you stepped to the door and grabbed the handle to open it up and glanced out into the hallway, seeing a few monsters in white lab coats come and go through the various rooms down this specific corridor. You carefully made your way into the hall as Sans came up behind you and closed the door as you walked. As you both made your way down the hall you peered into open rooms to see monsters laying on beds, some were being checked on and others just lied there as if in a coma. A lump formed in your throat as you saw some of these monsters were small, young and even looked pained.

Sans murmured from behind you as you passed a group of technicians who watched the both of you pass, “you shouldn't be seein' this kid.”

Biting into the side of your cheek you swallowed down the lump in your throat as you meandered through the halls bravely, taking in the atmosphere and smiled kindly to technicians who smiled at you. While you meandered on by a group at the end of the hall one of them gasped, freezing with their eyes glued onto your neck. Your expression fell as you turned your gaze away and found yourself trailing into a large lobby, it seemed to serve no real purpose besides separating the two different sections on this level with elevators against the far wall. Blinking you gazed across the room and found the halls across from you nearly empty, that's where Gaster must be. Your soul gave a gentle flutter as you grinned and pushed forward.

 

***

The Lich hadn't expected the woman to finish the speaker so quickly and he had to admit she was very good with engineering and design. So much so that he had her box up the gift while he used summoned apparitions to help install a second vat beside the first mounted on the wall. As Alphys left the black box with a red ribbon on the desk she padded up beside him and got back to work, reaching inside the machine to play around with the wires inside. She had insisted in adding a manual panel just in case and he begrudgingly allowed it. 

Peering at her motions a gentle huff left his jaws, she was very clean with her electrical work.. something his other technicians had a problem with including Sans. 

As time went on they finished installing the second vat, the acrylic thrumming to life with power as Alphys finished sealing up the machinery. She was grinning with pride as the scientist pulled his apparitions away while looking over their work, Alphys was technically skilled beyond what he had expected. This realization settled his irritation with her adding on a manual panel to cover up the cut into the machine below both vats. The woman was working right in front of the Lich, the renown black moth Oliver perched on her bicep as she finished mounting the command console.

Lost in his thoughts he suddenly felt a pull at his soul, his eyes snapping up to the door while Alphys kept working. With his sockets narrowing he reached his magic outward, feeling the presence of many a monster soul yet a deep, guttural growl tore through his throat and made the woman freeze before him. He hadn't been paying much attention to the girls calm energy levels and gentle spikes throughout the evening, he even partially forgot about their connection over the past half hour but now that he felt her golden energy within the building on this level it triggered his anger once more. He hardly trusted Sans to teleport himself through the void, carrying the girl with him was strictly out of the question. 

Alphys slowly pulled herself from the machine, carefully looking behind her but as she did she found the monster gone.

 

***

 

Murmuring broke out behind you as you made your way over to the secluded hall with a pep to your step but just before you entered with Sans you paused, feeling watched. Carefully you turned to look over your shoulder and found a small crowd staring at you from across the room, some were holding clipboards while others only wore curious gazes. You raised an eyebrow at them, meeting their looks before the entire assembly froze with their eyes going wide. A dark tremor reverberated through the lobby, the pressure wrapping around your soul as the technicians scrambled to get out of the room and to work.

“My dear.. why are you here?” a deep, growling voice spoke from the hall.

A smile cracked over your face as you whipped around and found the scientist standing with his hands at his back, his eyes trained onto you before darting down to Sans'. Another vibration shuddered through the air as you stepped up to him without fear at his apparent anger, “guess I just sort of.. dropped in.”

He didn't respond, his magic only growing thicker as he stared down the skeleton who met his gaze with an equal amount of defiance. As they stared at one another aggravation pent up within them, you could feel their strong magic clashing and it sent goosebumps over your arms. You opened your mouth to hiss at the two but luckily a soft stammering spoke up behind and off to the side of the massive monster, you couldn't hear what she was saying but recognized the voice immediately as you sighed in relief. 

Alphys padded up past Gaster as she suddenly gasped and adjusted her glasses. You recognized that Oliver was perched on her lab coat as she spoke, “S-sun? Wh-what a-are yo-you d-doing h-here?”

Smiling sheepishly you waved to Alphys but stayed where you were as you repeated, “ya know.. just droppin' in.”

Unsettled Alphys peered up at the scientist as he glared down to Sans, you followed her gaze and sighed as you stepped up to the Lich to set your hands on his chest against the lapels of his coat. You could feel his magic thrumming powerfully beneath his hide while both Alphys and Sans flinched at seeing this, even some of the braver technicians did so as well as they watched the scene from within the far hall. They had never seen the monster touch or be touched by anyone or anything unless he was using his summoned hands, the display was extremely out of character.

Quietly you spoke, looking up at him as he stared over the top of you at the skeleton, “G.. I gotta talk to you about something..”

Sans tensed as the Lich broke his eye contact and looked down to you, studying your expression as a deep exhale pressed through his chest. Alphys stammered as she tried to keep her voice down, “let's g-go b-back t-to th-the office..” carefully she peered out across the lobby before turning and began to stride down the hall though the Lich wasn't moving as his eyes darted back up to the skeleton. With a sigh you pressed into his chest but it was like trying to move a wall, even with all of your weight and force behind it he would simply not budge.

“G.. god damnit..” you sighed, remembering the last time he did this when you were in the lab with him underground, “this is kind of important..” you whispered. 

The soft sound of stepping caused you to look over your shoulder, pausing your attempts to push the monster as Sans perused right past the both of you. The Lich turned to stay facing the skeleton and you sighed in relief, Sans was keeping his promise.. you trotted on after the skeleton with the scientist shadowing you at your back, his jaws lightly parting to inhale the scent drifting from your body. There was a lot to process but he sifted through the tastes curiously as they made their way down the hall, his anger being replaced by his inquisitive thoughts. 

As Sans reached the end of the hall the heavy metal doors were flung open by a pair of summoned, bony hands. Alphys stood nervously in front of a large wooden desk as you stepped inside and glanced around the immaculate room. It was so much more spacious than what he had in the underground though you did recognize the wooden desk, remembering how it felt beneath your hands.. before you could flush you were drawn to the machine on the side of the wall by a bright light, your lips parting in awe. 

You meandered on over to the large machine as the heavy metal doors slammed closed behind the Lich, a gust of air pushing through the room and stirred the skeleton's clothing as Sans lazily wandered up beside Alphys but something behind her on the desk caught his eye. The woman glanced up to Sans and smiled sheepishly as a summoned hand grabbed the strange item from the table and tucked it into a drawer in the desk, carefully shutting it before the skeleton could get a good look at it. Suppressing a growl Sans turned back to look into the room and found the scientist staring him down, the harsh magic from the looming monster pecked at his bones but he'd never show his discomfort.

“Jesus G..” you murmured, stopping in front of the impressive machine as you looked the thing over. Examining two large vats though only one seemed to be functioning as it was suspending some kind of bright concoction within it. You suppressed the urge to reach your hand out as you heard the scientist step up beside you, keeping his gaze on the skeleton as he hovered above you. It had been awhile since he had been around others with you, you had forgotten how he liked to stand so close but it didn't bother you.

Gaster was silent as you folded your arms and turned back around to face him as you murmured, “I think I know why you're irritated,” you began, looking up to the cracked and blank face of the Lich as his eyes trailed down to yours, “Sans and I got hit by a magic jammer at dinner.”

Alphys blinked rapidly, stammering, “w-what!?”

Sans snorted, muttering, “some guy jenny is dating had one on him..”

The woman turned to the skeleton, murmuring, “wh-why w-would h-he d-do that..?” he merely shook his head, about to speak but then swallowed the words. He could handle this without the Lich getting involved.

The scientist absorbed this information, mulling it around in his head as you spoke up softly, barely audible to the other two across the room, “it kind of stung.. I'm sure you felt it too.”

He responded just as subtly, his chin barely shifting side to side as he flicked his gaze back to Sans suspiciously. You blinked up at him wildly, the others not even catching his response as you went on, “seriously..? It was an annoying high pitched ringing noise and it felt like..” you reached up to your neck, covering the mark as you remembered the sensation, “getting stung but then it went numb.”

The skeleton's gaze shot over to you, his smile becoming strained.. that didn't make any sense.

Gaster spoke to you directly though Oliver was still perched on the woman's lab coat and only Sans was left in the dark to what he was saying, “magic disrupting has been an ever increasing problem throughout the city, my dear. It is nothing to be concerned with though it can numb our connection, that is what you felt.”

Blinking you scrunched your eyebrows, “really..?” that made sense you supposed, curiously you then asked, “where are people getting these things?”

Sans was irritated that he wasn't privy to half of this conversation, he was familiar with the scientist's speech but it had been such a long time since he had somewhat learned it and like hell if he would allow his magic to touch him. It was an unbearable experience to speak with the Lich through a cellphone manipulated by his magic let alone have some moth sit on his body. 

Alphys stepped forward with Oliver pattering over her coat as she chimed in, “w-we th-think it's j-just tr-trolling.”

Thinking you stood there while your gaze dropped to the floor as you murmured, “people still really hate monsters that much..?”

You were broken from your thoughts as the Lich spoke, drawing your attention up to him, “my dear, these strikes throughout the city are wildly disorganized and are nothing but a nuisance. I would hardly classify it as a hate movement.”

Alphys nodded as she smiled, “A-asgore h-has an-another team w-working on t-this. O-our job i-is to h-help t-the fallen.”

“A prioritized assignment,” the scientist muttered down to you as you sighed, you hated feeling as if you were behind on everything but they definitely helped settle your anxiety. This was probably just a dumb accident, no need to get all paranoid over it.

Sans knew this wasn't just any kind of magical jammer, it had been designed to fit inside of a cellphone without raising suspicion.. he remembered the call.. the timing.. the mere strength of the impact. This was wrong. But why would Jake target him..? He had so much on his mind but he wouldn't discuss it around the scientist. Sans kept his eyes on Gaster as the Lich slightly turned, his broad shoulders pulling back once more as he peered to the skeleton with a blank expression. Sans' jaws twitched.. the Lich could eat shit for all he cared, the last thing they needed was cleaning up another mess he would cause if he knew what really had happened.

You decided to press the topic, “do you think we should keep an eye on this guy..? What if he is dangerous and Jenny is around him?”

The skeleton slowly nodded, that couldn't hurt. 

Alphys spoke back up, “I-i c-can al-alert th-the other t-team ab-about this guy.. d-do y-you know wh-what he l-looks like?”

You dug your phone out of your pocket as you turned toward Alphys as she stepped forward to close the distance. Scrolling through your gallery something caught Gaster's eye though the pictures were gone in an instant as you pulled up the image of Jake that Jenny had sent you, the scientist's curiosity for the other images were erased as he focused. He didn't need much time to memorize the features before you handed the phone over to the woman, she cradled the phone in her hand as she scrunched her brow.

“Have you seen him before..?” you murmured, all of your gazes directed to her as she shook her head and began tapping on the screen to send the picture to her own cell phone. As she tabbed out of the image her eyes caught onto something, a flush rising in her cheeks as she quickly hit the home button and handed your phone back shakily. You blinked wildly at her odd movements before realization hit you and you froze up as well, she must have caught a glimpse of the images from this morning. Now the only two women in the room were smiling stupidly in embarrassment yet the men just gave the both of you odd looks.

“T-they ha-have a f-few su-suspects r-r-right no-now,” she struggled to speak through her nervousness, though she smiled sheepishly as you grinned back with a flush rising on your own cheeks. Sans quickly looked between the both of you, utterly lost as she went on, “th-this sh-should he-help th-though!”

Tucking the phone back into your jeans you glanced to Sans, thinking back to the ward you crossed through, “these jammers.. they aren't hurting people are they..?”

He shook his head, you could tell he had noticed your exchange with Alphys but kept it to himself as he spoke, “nah.. though we don't want it turnin' into somethin' dangerous.”

The woman spoke as she settled down, looking to Sans, “i-if she f-felt th-the jammer th-though.. w-wouldn't i-it ha-have r-really hu-hurt you..?”

He shook his head, murmuring, “nah.. just a buzzin' in my skull.”

The lie settled with the others as you spoke up, “Jake tried to say that it must have been a ringtone he downloaded unknowingly.. you think that's possible?” you murmured quietly, Gaster remained silent and observant as he listened.

Alphys nodded, smiling to you sweetly as the black moth fluttered it's wings against her shoulder, “y-yeah.. i-it's possible. D-don't wo-worry too m-much about it.”

Sighing in relief you brought a hand up and pushed the hair from your face as Sans turned to Alphys and spoke, “you ready to get outta here?”

She blinked to him and then hummed sharply as she looked up to the Lich, her tail lightly swaying as their gazes met. It was your turn to be confused with the skeleton as you turned to look over at Gaster who lightly nodded, his expression utterly devoid of emotion per usual.

With a smile the woman turned and stepped around the desk, pulling your attention back over curiously as she opened a drawer and reached inside. Blinking you scrunched your brow together as the skeleton shifted on his feet with unease, hearing the drawer close you quickly glanced at Gaster who lazily looked at you. Of course he would be no help. Curiously you turned back and took a few steps forward as Alphys rounded the table with something clutched in her hands, it was a black long box with a red ribbon on it. 

This took both you and Sans for surprise as she held it out for you, carefully you took the item from her with both hands and glanced back at Gaster who was stepping up towards you to stand at your shoulder. He wasn't giving you any kind of support besides just being there, nervously you turned back to Alphys as she grinned and spoke, “g-go on, op-open it.”

Your eyes darted over to Sans but he genuinely seemed just as confused and nervous as you were, his hands tightening into fists in his jacket as you eyed the box and tentatively pulled on the ribbon to untie it before lifting the lid and tucked it under the box as the red ribbon lightly fell to the floor at your feet. Blinking wildly you stared into the box, your breath caught in your throat as you carefully lifted the long device from the box and became transfixed with the yellow miniature heart within the center of the thin blocky device. 

It was a soul. It was..  _your_ soul. A summoned hand gently took the box from you to allow you to hold the device with both hands as you watched the tiny heart float behind the acrylic inset, shedding flecks of light blissfully. You were too distracted to see Alphys pull out her phone and tap through it a few times, Sans was about to speak up but was cut off as suddenly the machine lit up brilliantly. A rainbow of light shimmered across your wrists as the display popped up while music began to vibrate and hum throughout the frame. It took you a moment to process what you were seeing, hearing and feeling as you held the speaker in one hand and brought the other up to your mouth as you began to laugh with tears pricking at your eyes. 

“I-it's b-bluetooth,” the woman smiled broadly, watching your emotional reaction she also felt a bit of moisture welling in her own eyes.

“A-alphys.. oh my god..” you laughed breathily, staring at the speaker as a bass line tremor sunk through it and into the air. Your soul was positively brimming as you watched the little yellow heart just soak in the music as shimmering colors danced through the bottom of the device, the song name scrolling across the screen on one side while the other displayed the current beat levels as the music played on. 

Sans was in shock, just as transfixed as you were. The quality was spot on, it even sounded as if it were emanating from the room itself as another hard laugh pressed through your throat. The skeleton glanced up to see a tear slip from the corner of your eye as you wiped it away and lunged forward to pull Alphys into a tight, shaky hug. His grin strained.. he had no idea she had built this and he always knew what was going on especially since it took her a few days to build the last project with his advice.

“Oh my god.. this is fucking amazing, Alphys!”

She stammered nervously, the impact of your hug knocking Oliver from her coat and sent him fluttering through the air above you. Blushing wildly she patted your back and got you to let go of her as she softly murmured, “i-it w-wasn't my i-idea.. I j-just d-designed t-the case..”

Scrunching your brows you slowly turned to the Lich, his expression utterly flat but it didn't stop you from closing the distance and slid an arm under his coat to wrap an arm around him tightly. Clutching onto the device with the other you felt the music radiate into your body, your heart beating wildly as you laughed though much to your surprise you felt the gentle touch of his fingertips pressing into the back of your head as you spoke, “you did  _not_ do this, G. This is waay too nice for you to do..”

“For you my dear.. there is no such thing.” 

Another chuckle pressed through your throat, feeling a tad too emotional you ducked your face against his chest as he held you lightly. It wasn't long before you felt his other hand rest against your back between your shoulder blades, a gentle exhale pressing from his chest as Alphys wiped at her eyes. Sans slowly pulled his gaze over to her, feeling a twinge of.. disgust. Though as he looked back his eyes met with the hardened stare of the scientist, they both caught each other in silent privacy while the women were distracted. Sans just barely narrowed his eyes and shook his head, he didn't want to know how he had gotten her soul energy..

Sensing the tension in the air you pulled yourself together and stepped back, dryly laughing as you wiped at your eyes again and cleared your throat, “how did you.. what is.. is this my soul?”

Alphys laughed gently, grabbing your attention as you turned but kept an arm around him as he removed his hands and placed them behind his back once more, “n-not e-exactly.. i-it's like a f-fingerprint.”

“But.. how? I didn't feel a thing.. I didn't even notice-”

A gentle chuckle rolled through the Lich but only you knew what it was, the other two flinched at the warbling, grating noise as he murmured, “good.”

Without Oliver Alphys was left in the dark to whatever the scientist was saying just as Sans was. The skeleton turned to Alphys and blinked to her as she nodded, turning off the music on her phone and thus the speaker before pocketing the device. You blinked over to her as she stepped up to Sans, grabbing onto his arm as she cleared her throat with Oliver skittering around on the ceiling above them, “i-i'm h-happy you l-like it.”

“Alphys.. I fucking love this thing!” you barked, another laugh working through your chest as you pulled the device away from your chest and marveled at it. Even when it wasn't playing music the lights would shimmer on the bottom though you could tell they were gently fading away as it went to sleep.

“It's really beautiful..”

As you looked over to the both of them you saw Sans' struggling to keep his expression neutral just before he vanished. Blinking wildly you studied where they were as clawed fingertips brushed across your cheek to tuck your hair back from your face and neck, turning your attention back to the Lich you smiled and sighed.

“Thank you, G..” A light tug pulled the edge of his mouth as you blinked and leaned into another hug as you shook your head in disbelief with a broad smile on your lips, “why did you do this for me..?”

It had been a spur of the moment thing for the monster. Inspired by the events of the morning it had just dawned on him with no real rhyme or reason beside the fact that you would enjoy the upgrade. It was just a plus that he was now being flooded with your golden energy as your soul swelled, it merely replaced the large amount he had sacrificed during the night and the morning. He let loose his hands from behind his lower back, setting them around you as you relaxed against him. 

He remembered Alphys' mention of LV.. he still didn't understand the connection though as he held you against him he felt.. warmth in his chest. Perhaps the soul connection with the girl was changing his stats..? No. There was no coming back after building LV. He shrugged the thoughts off as he felt your fingertips dig into his back, a light tremble trailing through your form as he glanced down.

Unable to contain your emotion you murmured with a smile, “nobody has done something this nice for me..”

He remained silent and honestly that was all right for you as you gathered yourself and grinned as you pulled away and looked up to him once more, “wanna go break this baby in..?”

Slowly he blinked down to you, a smirk pulling at his mouth as the lights in the room suddenly went out.

 

***

 

Dropping Alphys back in her living room Sans paced, staring at the carpet as the woman wobbled and steadied herself against the wall as he muttered, “the fuck did he do to her to get that energy..?”

“S-sans..” the woman groaned, shaking her head as she regained her balance, “she s-said sh-she di-didn't even know.”

“why.. why would he do something like that..” he spat, turning to pace back again as Alphys groped the wall for the light switch and flipped them on as he continued to rant, “he's fuckin' plannin' something..”

“S-sans..” she tried, rubbing her face lightly but he just paced back again.

“how else could she feel that jammer without him doin' somethin' else to her..”

“S-sans!” the woman squeaked, getting him to stop in his tracks with his back turned to her as she shrugged off her lab coat and hung it up on the coat rack on the wall next to her, “I th-think he d-did it b-because h-he lo-”

“don't you fuckin' say that word..”

Blinking rapidly she turned and found Sans nearly right in her face, his sockets black. Startled she pressed back against the wall as he growled, “he doesn't know what that word is, what that feeling is.”

“B-but-”

“no.”

Huffing with irritation she stood her ground, standing up straight as she stammered and met his threatening gaze with her own glare, “h-how d-do yo-you k-know..?”

“he's the type of guy that would sacrifice his own kids if it meant getting what he wanted-” the skeleton watched her eyes widen as he spat, “-he's got too much LV to be able to l-..”

Sans growled as he jerked away from the woman before vanishing once more, leaving the woman startled and relaxing as she stewed in her thoughts. She knew what she saw.. she knew what that feeling was from personal experience. Deep inside she also knew why Sans didn't want to hear that word.. but it didn't change what was happening even though Gaster seemed to be clueless as well. With a gentle sigh she went to the fridge to heat up some left over Chinese food, men were always so oblivious.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter was finished last night so I need more time to edit and smoothen things out before I post it.  
> Lots of plot building went on in this bomb to prepare us for the next part!


	11. Make it Official (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scientist pulls smooth moves per usual though things start moving forward for the both of you while it seems someone else has a different plan in mind for the both of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last chapter was broken into two parts for readability. Enjoy!

 

You laughed as you both were draped in darkness in the lab. The soft light of the bubbling soul fragment within the machine in your hand cast a gentle golden glow against the Lich's chest, looking down at the device your smile deepened. Excitement welled in your chest you hopped on over to his desk, setting the speaker down as you pulled your phone out from your pocket and turned on the bluetooth before going to your music playlist. Gaster slowly took a few long strides to come standing right at your back, his body heat pressing into your spine as you looked for just the right song.

Right as you tapped your choice the device lit back up, brilliant waves of rainbow light gliding along the polished wood beneath the machine which slightly projected outward across the surface as the beat pushed into the room. Amazed you were transfixed on the speaker, the little yellow soul within was sparking bit of amber as it hovered behind the acrylic. Unable to hold back your laughter you set your phone face down on the desk as you rested your palms against the hard surface, watching the display as the beat played on. You knew the sound was coming from the speaker.. yet at the same time it felt as if it were surrounding you.

“This is the coolest thing I have ever seen..” you murmured, the scientist at your back chuckling as he leaned over top of you to begin explaining.

“This device is powered by your soul fragment, my dear. It will play as loud as you wish it to while remaining contained to a room.”

“You mean I can turn this thing all the way up and nobody else will hear it outside of the flat..?” you glanced over your shoulder to him, his bright white eyes radiating their own gentle glow as you went on, “no way.. that's not possible.”

“See for yourself,” he murmured, a smirk tugging at his mouth as you narrowed your eyes at him with a grin.

Turning back you set your fingers over your phone, tapping the volume on the side of the device until the music was fairly loud. Bass humming into the table you laughed over top of the music and slipped around the scientist who turned to watch you bolt across to the room to the doors, the music did not bother the Lich what so ever and in fact he found it enjoyable. 

Pressing your palms into one of the doors you pushed it open, stepping into the hallway the music suddenly cut off. You held the door open as you breathed heavily and looked down the hall then back into the dark room, the Lich's bright eyes locking onto yours as you shook your head in disbelief and stepped back into the room while keeping the door open with a summoned hand. Being met again with the beat and thrumming of the song you pranced backwards into the hall just for the noise to be cut off, the smirk deepened on Gaster's face as he watched you just lose it. Laughing hysterically you stood out in the hall and held open your arms, not even noticing the glancing eyes of the leaving technicians from clear out in the lobby.

“How are you doing that, G!?” 

A few of the braver technicians stepped up to the corner of the wall and peeked around the edge to look at the commotion, blinking at the odd scene before them though as they looked past you and into the dark room they saw the powerful looming monster with his bright eyes that only flicked to meet their gazes. You didn't notice this interaction and instead just pressed back into the room, giggling madly as the hand you summoned was taken over and slammed the door behind you to block out the invading, curious looks while you scrambled on over to him amidst the noise.

He expected you to embrace him again as he blinked, his smirk dropping as you rounded him to the table. The Lich watched as you turned the music down a tad, leaving your phone face down on the wood before you then jumped up onto his desk. Standing up straight you turned to face him with your hands on your hips and grinned down to him for the first time as he slowly squared his shoulders and lifted his chin curiously as you spoke, “okay what do you want, G? There has to be a catch!”

His smirk popped back onto his face, a huff drawing from his jaws as he spoke lowly, “feeling suspicious, my dear?”

“Well that and a little turned on, not gonna lie,” you laughed, leaning your weight onto one hip as he watched you.

Humming inquisitively he took a long stride up to the desk and peered up at you, his sharp jaws reaching your ribs as you stood tall and proud on the desk with the music trailing into your feet from the wood. For some reason words found him, a pressure twisting in his chest and gut as he purred, “your company is enough for me, my dear.”

A gentle giggle pressed from your throat as you drew your hands up and set them on his shoulders, his own arms slipping up around you while his lanky fingers trailed up your legs to your waist in the soft intertwining glow of the room

You purred lowly down to him, your eyelids drooping as a smirk tugged at your lips, “what are you sayin', G?”

Watching the soft rainbow glow project outward from your feet against the scientist's ribbed sweater he hummed deeply, the vibrations tickling his ribcage as the music continued to play across the room. The Lich eyed you as you sauntered your hips up against him, his fingers trailing upwards with his claws digging lightly into the fabric hugging your sides as he parted his jaws. A hot puff of air pressed into your abdomen as he murmured, “you intrigue me.”

Butterflies flurried in your stomach as another giggle pressed from your lungs, feeling his curious hands dip up under your shirt to feel along your ribs with his fingertips digging down between each bone. Staring into his eyes there was that feeling again, a twisting warmth flooded your chest and soul that sent a shiver down your spine as he exhaled once more against you with his jaws beginning to part ever so slowly to take in your gentle scent.

“What about me is so interesting, big guy?” you purred, your own fingertips trailing up to the side of his strong neck, feeling his breath wavering through his throat. 

The Lich rested his hands up beneath your shirt, gripping your sides gently as he huffed with his claws twitching. He wasn't sure how to put it into words, he had never felt this inner stirring before. Everything made sense by logical explanation but this was not purely factual. She had been interesting because of her soul.. it was the first thing that drew him to her. It was a pure experimental curiosity but now he found himself spending more time with her.. speaking to her, longing for her. It was an exciting pull that made his muscles tense and eyes dilate, a feeling similar to being in heat though it was a slow burning within him. An ache that drove down into his soul.

There were no words to describe it. 

His silence was all right with you as you caressed the side of his neck with your fingers, dipping down into the collar of his shirt to feel along his various nicks and scrapes dotting his white flesh. An excited warmth flared into your body, making you shiver as another exhale from the monster brushed along your skin as he pulled you closer. Tilting his jaws down he playfully nipped at your jeans, a growl weaving through his form and against your lower stomach that sent your eyelids fluttering. The monster closed his eyes as his tongue snuck out into his biting, you had no idea how but he managed to unbutton your jeans with his teeth. The hot breathing from the scientist slid into your jeans just before his oily tongue slipped from his maw to press against your stomach just above your panty line. 

Gasping your fingers twitched and gripped onto the monster, your eyelids closing as the heavy beat of the music around the both of you wove a trance like state into your mind. Calming your muscles as the monster pushed his hand further up along your side to your back where his claws dug in tenderly, a soft moan pulling from your lungs as a bony apparition slipped up under his chin to unzip your jeans and continued to pull to wiggle the fabric down further. His slick tongue unfurled from deep within his throat, slinking down as he dipped his face further to press his thick, flat tendril along your heated mound.

Shuddering heavily your fingertips dug into the monster below you, a pant brushing across your lips at his teasing. The bony hand continued to pull down your jeans until they fell at your ankles, carefully you stepped out of them and kicked the fabric away along with your shoes straight off the desk to the floor. The scientist clutched to your body and nuzzled his brow against your stomach, helping you keep your balance. His jaws yawned open, allowing his long tongue to fully press from his strong throat as he lapped harder along you, the tendril twisting as a sickly hot wetness was meeting your own arousal and fully soaked your panties. The Lich kept you held up as a pair of bony hands grabbed at your shirt and pulled it over your head just as the tip of his tongue nudged up through your thighs, catching the edge of your panties as he wriggled up through them to press against your puffy folds. 

Squeaking loudly, your jaws clenched together to stifle another moan which was drown out by the gentle music lulling you away to focus on his intimate touches as a bony hand dipped it's fingertips up along your neck. You were unsure if the doctor could feel your shuddering breath through your neck, he merely let loose a low groan of his own which reverberated through his oily tongue as he pressed up between your folds to taste along you. This sent a shiver through your legs, your head tilting away from the intimate touches of the apparition as he pushed his arm up further along your back to brace you while the other gripped at your side. 

While he kept his strong arm around you the other splayed it's fingers as he pushed downward, snagging your panties along his index and pointer finger to pull the fabric fully out of his way. Dragging down the thin cloth he pulled his tongue away briefly before meeting your exposed folds with a heavy breath, a warbled growl wove through his throat as he ducked his tongue outward again to shove up against your slit. Encouraged by the shivering and panting working through your form the tip of his tongue teasingly tested you, feeling your walls grip at the end of his tongue as he pressed forward with the hole in his tongue grating the edge up against your clit as he moved.

He was utterly soaking you in his thick, black translucent spit as a deep moan rolled from your lungs. Leaning into him from above you were forced to plant both palms against his shoulders as he suddenly lurched his tongue forth, wriggling up within your fluttering walls as a groan pulled from your lungs. His movements were eager as he dove further along you, sending another wave of shudders through your form while your legs began to tremble. Your walls were tight around his twisting tongue, the taste intoxicating as he slowly drew back and ground the edge of the hole in his tongue against your clit once more before pressing back inward with a deep curl of his tongue. 

Gasping as another shock shot through your back you dug your nails into the scientist's lab coat, the tender touches of the bony hand on your neck suddenly closing in as the palm pressed against the front of your throat with it's fingers tightening around your neck. He didn't apply much pressure but gave just enough to that a whimpering pant beat from your body as he drug his tongue back out, striking your sweet spot as your hips shuddered from the sensation. 

Ever so slowly he drew his tongue from you, a smirk on his face as he rolled his tongue across his jaws while peering up at you as your thighs were coated in his acidic drool. Another hard twist in his gut formed a throaty, wavering growl as he pushed the bony summoned hand back to tilt your head backwards. Arching your body he gazed up along your form hungrily, your skin basking in the gentle blue light from the vat across the room while the music hummed through his dense flesh. The bass tickled at his magic, the throbbing in his slacks becoming an unbearable ache as he was graced with a shuddering pant from your body.

Half a dozen hands now formed, grabbing at his coat to shrug himself out of it while the others gripped at your biceps and thighs tightly to take place of his true hands on you as he undressed. Gasping the apparitions pushed you backwards off balance and while you began to loose your footing his bare tattered arms caught you up, a scraping being heard across the desk beneath you as he pushed the devices off to the side and eased you flat on your back with his hovering tattered chest pressing down against you. The wood was cold against your skin, a shiver weaving through your sweating form as his tongue lolled out once more to taste up along your stomach and to your bra which he bit at with a tremoring growl. His noises were intertwining with his magic, thrumming the entire room along with the music as rainbow light danced along your skin from the side. 

Panting out his name you brought your hands up to his shoulders, gripping at the back of his neck and bicep as he stretched himself fully over the top of you. The bony fingers at your throat began to tighten, the pressure against the sides of your neck just beneath your jawline was tender and sparked another wave of pleasure through your writhing form as he tucked his hips down against you. Utterly surprised at feeling his hot, pulsing shaft against you it drew another hard gasp from your throat, your eyelids fluttering open as his hot breath beat against the side of your face.

You could feel the hard vibrations from the speaker along your back, trailing into your body as the Lich loomed above you with his sharp hip bones digging into your inner thighs. Flicking your gaze to the side you were met with his own half lidded, hungry expression as a heavy pant beat through his throat. His bright eyes captivated you, a churning in your gut mimicking his own inner tugs and while his pointed teeth glistened in the low mood lighting you still whimpered and tilted your chin up to him.

The bony apparition at your neck vanished as he pressed down over the top of you, his forearm still tucked beneath you while the other grasped at your hip and dug in as he rocked his hips forward and met your lips. A mewling pressed from your throat into his mouth as your jaws parted and tongues met, twisting along each other intimately while he ground his thick shaft along you. The music playing blanketed the both of you in a trance as the playlist went on, transitioning effortlessly to another slow song that drove across the wood and into your back. 

A dark tremor warbled into the air along with the bass, this heavy pressure drove against your limbs as it filled the room while your tongues rolled and stroked along one another in a slow intimacy Staring through the haze to one another you both become lost in each others eyes. You couldn't think nor hardly breath as the Lich held your attention as his hips rolled forward once more, pulling a gentle moan from your lungs into his tender caresses caged by his coated jaws. 

Whimpering, chest heaving as you breathed out through the kiss your back arched against the table to shove your hips against his while your hands grasped onto his tense bicep and clawed across his tattered shoulder straight across his newly earned scar. He knew you were begging for him and he reveled in it, giving another teasing grind forward with a light grunt that beat into the back of your throat to mix with a flustered whine of your own. 

Something more than excitement struck in your heart and stomach, it was becoming a familiar feeling yet you had no words for it. Tasting him, feeling him and hearing him you bathed in this all consuming sensation flooding your mind and body in the subtle churning glow of the speaker beside you. You didn't try to find words for it, you simply existed with the Lich for in this moment life didn't seem so complicated. It didn't have to be.

The Lich broke contact with your mouth, your pantings intertwining as he murmured with a heavier accent, “my darling.. you captivate me.”

A soft smile pulled at your parted mouth, the song playing in the room twisted around the both of you. Was he feeling this way too..? 

You whispered breathily with a grin, “darling..?”

A chuckle pressed from his chest as he eased his hips back, his girthy head pressing right up against you as he panted out tenderly, “be truly mine..”

Blinking wildly your breath hitched in your throat as a hard blow hit your chest, whispering his name just as he nudged his hips forward and buried within you while his strong arm tucked at your back pulled you close. A shudder wove through your spine, murmuring his name louder as your eyes closed. It was all the affirmation he needed as his jaws dropped to the side of your face while he eased his hips back to only rock them forward with a tad more force, your walls burned as he forced himself through you though his earlier teasing left his movements easier to handle. 

Moaning heavily a shudder worked it's way through your throat as you tilted your head back, taking his large cock as he passionately rolled forth and rocked through your body to the slow rhythm of the music trembling through your tense, heated bodies. While he moved through you he managed to strike just right at your sweet spots, earning gentle cries and writhing of your body beneath him as you began to get used to his pacing. Panting heavily you slipped your arms under his own to reach up to his broad back, digging your nails into his thick hide as his open jaws hovered over your delicate neck. Patters of hot saliva trailed from his jagged fangs to your skin as he grunted and breathed out across your sweating flesh, his eyes closing as you began to rock your hips to meet with his pace.

Time had no sense or meaning, there was nothing left in the world but the two of you as you fell into a steady rhythm. He released your hip as he eased further down on top of you, his weight pressing into you from above to pin you against the hard wood below as his shaft fully stuffed up against you before withdrawing to only press forth once more. His tender motions jolted your nerves, shocking your body as you couldn't help but to cry from the electricity sparking along your very bones with the twisting warmth gathering in your gut and chest. This feeling, the same one from your sunset romance, was coming back with a vengeance you would have never had known existed.

He also felt this, it shook through his back and set his limbs ablaze as your tight walls clung to his thrusts. He was tempted to bite but he refrained, keeping his parted jaws tucked against the side of your face while your legs wrapped and locked around his sharp hips as he drove steadily. You were unable to speak, the heat from his body sent beads of sweat trialing down your form as he would shove right against the back of you before withdrawing. This pressure in your gut was normal whenever you lied with him though all your past experiences had been painful there was something to his earlier words that made every sensation you were fed truly incredible. 

Working together amidst the beat of the music flooding the room, courting with his heavy black magic that he did not care to contain, you both began to tense and your pacing grew more erratic. A growl tumbled in his chest, pressing down against you as he braced himself and began to truly thrust. Jamming up against your cervix you cried out, your nails dragging lavishly across his back through the thick scars and over his rigid spine. Lost to passion your eyes rolled beneath your lids as he stuffed himself within you, edging the pain and pleasure to new heights as you felt yourself cresting.

His jaws were itching, clattering against each other while his tongue curled against the bottom of his palate as a heavy snarl wove through his throat. You were used to his vocal inflections but this was a wilder sound. Static, and a pressure that rivaled the deep bass of the speaker, cascaded through his form and into you. This gave just the right push as he bucked forward, striking an electric shock through your form as your head flung backwards with a scream.

Shuddering, shivering and crying his name into the large room blanketed with music and magic he merely listened as his snarled devolved into a deep inhale that hitched and warbled just as he threw his free arm forward and slammed his sharp nails straight down into the wood above your head. A loud crack rung out across the room, jarring the desk just as he forcefully flung his weight into his final thrust against your trembling orgasm and with a deep twinge in your gut your cries were cut off from gasping so heavily, tears slipping from your eyes as you felt his twitching abdomen press against you. 

Fully hilted the monster pulled at the wood, his arm trembling with the effort as he tilted his head up to bare his black coated gums and fangs to the room though the noise he made sent another cry from your throat. It shook his entire body, carrying with it the force of his true strength of magic as this roar thundered and shook the very room as his magic interrupted not just the speaker but also the vats in the machine as their lights fluttered wildly. It was as if he was calling for his magic and thusly your very soul, you felt it respond to his call as it burst from your chest and nestled right between the both of you as he spilled his acidic seed through your tight, small body.

As your cries devolved into harsh whimpering you drew your arms up tightly around him, tears slipping down your cheeks as the hot, painful sensation stabbed at your gut as his essence slipped from your folds and dribbled down your ass to the desk. The Lich wound his own cry down, dropping his face down to yours to meet your own pained expression before your lips met once more while his hips continued to gently nudge against yours. Whimpering through the heavy grinding of your jaws, the milking motions of his rocking and the jolts of static striking your nerves you lavished each other with heavy strokes as your tongues intertwined and rolled against each other.

He finally held himself firmly against you as this stabbing, gut wrenching pain subsided to a numb tremble as you lay panting and exhausted beneath the monster. His outstretched arm continued to shake behind your head as he tried to drag his claws through the wood and with enough time the surface began to give, creaking loudly as his strength pulled deep gashes through the desk to bring his elbow close enough to rest on so he wouldn't crush you with his weight. 

The haze of the moment began to clear, his magic still lay heavy in the room but as you both opened your eyes and saw one another contrasted in the light blue atmosphere with tinges of gold stemming from your chest you both remained panting and recovering. Your soul sent sheds of amber sparks down across your skin where they would lightly flicker before fading out of existence, it tingled against your ribs and the Lich could even feel this sensation across his deadened scars that were ripped through his chest.

While you came down from your high you still couldn't comprehend the room or anything but the both of you, staring into the Lich's bright dilated eyes as he panted against you with his pulsating shaft still sheathed deeply within you. Shakily your nails let go of his dense flesh and slipped from under his arms so that you could bring your palms up the sides of his neck to rest them against his sharp jawline, carefully your thumb brushed out against the jagged crack in the side of his cheek which he didn't even flinch at. This feeling welling within your chest and stomach was brimming, shimmering through your heightened, blissful soul yet there were no words to describe it or that could be uttered. It hadn't faded from your climax and instead only continued to swell within you.

He gently dipped his jaws back down to you, showering each other in gentle kisses to help ease the transition of recovery and comfort. Slowly you both began to shake this dizziness, taking in the change of a song playing from the speaker beside you as you panted and swallowed dryly. Resting your head back against the wood as his jaws began to close, he always could regain his breath before you could.

With a smile and a light laugh you murmured raspily, “that was.. that was intense..”

A smirk tugged at his maw as his eyelids drooped a tad farther, pulling his arm out from under your back so he could lean on both elbows on either side of your form. You noticed a slight twinge in his neck as he held himself against you, that hot sticky substance clinging to the both of you as it slowly crawled down the edge of the desk in the dark. 

He had no words but you still found a few as you laughed, blinking away further moisture in your eyes as he brought up his free clawed hand and gently wiped away the wetness resting against your cheek with his thumb as you whispered, “you're amazing..”

Purring down to you he murmured, “I know, my darling.”

That truly made you laugh, your body shuddering against his thick shaft which pulled a gentle moan from the Lich. He was greedy, he didn't want to leave you just yet.. not when it had taken so long to finally hilt within you. A lighter song began to play, stirring the both of you further out of your hypnosis as you blinked and glanced around suddenly becoming aware of where you were and with a soft pant you looked back to him fully flushed in the face, “you think anybody heard us..?”

A light chuckle pecked at his lungs as he muttered, “I don't give a damn.” 

Gasping you giggled and just shook your head, feeling too good to argue with him as he glanced down and noticed your soul. Blinking at it slowly he took in it's appearance before dragging it back within your body from the magic resting on it's glowing surface. With his large hand pressed into the side of your face you gently turned towards it, closing your eyes as you nuzzled into his knuckled digits and pressed your lips against the uppermost part of his palm. The Lich turned his gaze back up to watch what you were doing, intrigued, relaxed and at inner peace he drew in a deep breath to fill his lungs before slowly letting it out. 

Begrudgingly he then pulled his hips from you, your body wanted to badly to cling to him that it caused you to wince and writhe against the wood until he finally popped from your sore and aching folds. Another spill of his black tar-like essence dribbled from you, pushing another wave of the substance to topple from the edge of the desk and drool down the side of it. Gasping and moaning from the sensation it drew a few more heavy pants from your lungs yet you relaxed back down as the scientist pried his claws free from the desk with a hard snort. Blinking you turned your attention back to him while your fingers lingered upon his face as he pulled himself up and off of you, your arms falling gently down to your sides as you stirred. 

With his body heat gone you shivered against the desk, pulling your legs back as he glanced around the room and licked over his jaws while he stepped away. You also looked around, your eyes drifting across the room and even the ceiling above you as you found Oliver skittering around across the dead light fixtures above just as your playlist came to an end and silence filled the room. With a heavy groan you managed to slowly bring your legs together and dropped them to the side, turning over onto your hip to press yourself up on the desk with one shaky arm while the other pushed your frizzy hair from your face as you gained your bearings. 

There was a deep, throbbing heat nestled within your gut and along your thighs as the Lich's seed bit you, lightly smelling of gasoline and chemicals as you looked over to him. Quite a few summoned hands were cleaning up the mess and adjusting himself back into his slacks though he didn't bother to fasten the black belt around his waist, he was looking towards the doors as you felt a rag press up between your thighs and you squealed at the sensation. The Lich ignored your surprise as he ran his tongue over his jaws once more, swallowing your flavors as he strode over to the machine on the wall while another pair of hands picked up and folded your discarded clothing to set them on the desk beside the speaker still shimmering with light on standby. 

Curiously you watched him as he stood before the vats and brought up a hand while the other tucked behind his lower back, even in the low light you could vaguely see gray scratch marks trailing over his pointed shoulder blades and spine. You tried to simmer your blushing as you looked down to the desk, your eyes wide at seeing the tears through the wood. Splinters peppered the gashes and tentatively you brought a hand up and hovered over the trenches, not wanting to touch them as you were afraid of getting cut. Had it really been that powerful for him as well..?

Looking back up you found him directing the machine through simple hand gestures, the light within the vat blinking before simmering to a lower setting and hummed much like a refrigerator would do. You felt the rag drag across you heavily, pulling a shudder through your back as you turned your head to glare at the bony hand disappearing with the cloth as the others also got done wiping down the wood and took off into the void. Snorting gently you looked back to only find the Lich standing right in front of you, you flinched as he reached his hands out and picked you up from the table to cradle your sore form against his scalding chest.

_'my darling.. you captivate me.'_

Your heart fluttered in your chest as you rested your head against his shoulder, placing a hand against his chest with the other tucked between you two. A deep hum pulled through his form as he directed a pair of hands back into the room and stacked up your things, making sure he had everything settled before turning his flat expression down to you. He held you as your eyes drifted closed, settling against him as his grip tightened ever so slightly.

_'be truly mine.'_

He took you back to the flat, the deep gouges in the wood left basking in the low blue light of the room.

 

***

The night with the Lich was a peaceful blur from then on. Even in the morning as you both stirred, showered and got dressed in casual clothing. He dawned his dark hoodie and jeans while you went with leggings and loose tank top, you were somewhat recovered from last night though you still felt numb in your gut and thighs. For some reason the monster felt more hovering than usual though this only made it easier to crack jokes with him as you both shook off the effects of the other night. You made coffee together, Chip observing as you both swapped witty comments at one another and ended up on the couch leaned against his chest with his leg bent up against your side with the other hanging down to the floor. You'd have to get bigger furniture. 

Absentmindedly you turned on the TV to the news, blinking as you saw the weather report and sipped from your warm mug as the Lich leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Basking in the Sunday sunlight radiating through the windows as Chip perused around the couch. Gaster had set your things on the counter in the kitchen last night and that's where they stayed and would stay for now, though as your phone started to blip with notifications you lowered your mug and brought up your device to check your messages.

Jenny had sent you a few and you idly scrolled through them, feeling the monster at your back breath deeply. Shyly you bit into your cheek, hovering over the keyboard and wondering if you'd spill the beans on being official with the scientist or not to her. You ended up deciding to just tell her in person, quickly you typed up a friendly response to your morning conversation. With the TV lightly drolling on in the background you spent a few peaceful moments with the monster, his body heat radiating into you while Chip perused over to the couch and laid on the floor by the wall directly in the rays of the sun shinning outside. 

You raised an eyebrow as a flood of messages from Frisk came in, your phone almost began to freeze up as you opened up the chat log with the ambassador. One after the other you were getting selfie after selfie, it was just a progressive slide show of Frisk walking from their room with Asriel with a straight look on their face to the front room. You began to laugh as they just kept coming and stirred the Lich as he purred and looked over the top of you to the screen, his undamaged brow raising as the selfies turned into them stepping into the hall and ended with Frisk's fist raised to your door. Laughing you began to text as there was a knock on the door,  _'just come in nerds!'_

Quickly you dropped your phone, raising a hand to summon a bony apparition to unlock the bolt and waved it away as the kids opened up the door to your flat and bounced inside. It had been awhile since you've seen them so your face lit up with giggles as they ran on over to the both of you as Frisk began to sign wildly.

_'Come to the park with us!'_

Asriel blinked, looking between the both of you as he huffed and set his fists on his waist, “you can't say no either.”

“How could I say no to you guys..?” you laughed, the Lich still relaxed behind you as he took a drink of coffee while you went on, “when were you guys going to leave?”

“Right now, punk! NGYAH!” 

Blinking wildly you jerked your head to the door as Undyne wandered on in, a big toothy grin on her face though it faltered as she spotted Gaster and raised a brow, “why aren't you at the lab with Alphys?”

The Lich remained silent, finishing his drink as he set his arm on the back of the couch and blankly stared at the warrior. You laughed nervously as Frisk turned around and signed,  _'be nice, they are cuddling!'_

A flush rose into your cheeks as you brought up your hand to speak but Asriel butted in, “you get to cuddle  _your_ girlfriend  _all the time!_ ”

Taken aback the warriors facial fins fluttered, feeling just as awkward as you were while Gaster was completely unphased.

“Ngh!-”

You decided to cut in, smiling sheepishly as you spoke to Undyne, “who is all coming with us..?”

She folded her arms and leaned on one hip, her long red hair bobbing behind her as she grinned once more, “probably just us and hopefully Papyrus if Sans gets his bony butt back here!”

Frisk nodded as they turned to you with a big smile on their face and began to sign while peering up over your head to the giant monster at your back,  _'you should come too.'_

The scientist slowly blinked as Asriel looked up at him as well and huffed, “you're already dressed for it.”

Snickering you glanced over your shoulder while Undyne watched the scene, her expression falling to a gentle one as you spoke up, “well you can't argue with that logic, G..”

The Lich huffed, a puff of hot air brushing across your cheek as he met your eyes and murmured, “as you wish.”

Asriel and Frisk looked to you as you grinned over to them and nodded, “he says okay.”

The children were beaming as they smiled to one another and skipped over to Undyne while you gathered up your phone from your lap and carefully stood up from the couch, the TV being turned off by a bony hand from the scientist as he followed suit. The warrior grinned to you as she jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, “meet us across the hall, punk. You're going to want to wear running shoes today!”

Lightly sighing you just nodded, a smile staining your lips as she spun around on her heel and led the kids out of your flat across the hall. Asriel grabbed the handle and let the door swing closed but it just sat against the trim, cracked open. 

Striding to the counter you put down your mug and looked behind you at the Lich as he spoke, “I must assist Doctor Alphys momentarily, I will see you there within the hour, my dear.”

Grinning you stepped up to him, slipping your hands up his chest as he hummed and blinked down to you curiously. Sighing you stood up on your tip toes for him to take the hint and he bowed to meet you, pressing his brow against yours as you smiled into his gaze.

“All right, hopefully Undyne wont kill me.”

The monster chuckled softly as he straightened back up and you stepped away, “darling.. you are stronger than you know.”

Blushing a bit you nodded, your grin turning sheepish as a light smile tugged at his mouth before he vanished from the flat. Feeling excited you quickly went to your room to grab your running shoes, lacing them up and then strode out of the flat. Being sure to lock the door you padded into Toriel's flat and head first into a conversation the woman was having with Undyne while Frisk and Asriel sat on the couch side by side.

“We haven't figured out where these magic blocking attacks are coming from-”

“Ngyah I wouldn't call 'em attacks, more like an obnoxious buzzing!” Undyne grinned as you stepped into the kitchen and spoke up.

“It reminds me of that annoying 'mosquito' ringtone.. I guess a lot of people have it because they think it's funny at the expense of others..” you snorted, folding your arms as Toriel kindly nodded to you.

The conversation went on for a few minutes though they basically just repeated what Alphys and Gaster had told you the other night though reports were starting to show the hits getting stronger and even a few monsters had passed out. It made you angry but you trusted that Toriel and Asgore had another good team working on the issue, as time ticked on Undyne became more unsettled until she finally had enough waiting for the brothers. You didn't have much time to think as the warrior shoved you and the kids out of the door while Toriel offered to stay behind and wait for them, it wasn't like you could complain otherwise.

You strode side by side with Undyne, enjoying a good laugh as Frisk and Asriel avoided cracks in the sidewalk as you all made your way to the park. The city was actually pretty alive this morning, all walks of life striding to and fro on their own business and you couldn't help but to notice less and less strangers were staring at you even with your marking so visible. Finally it seemed as if that rumor was wearing thin, it helped you relax though as you crossed into the park your cellphone went off. Quickly you answered with a smile as Undyne watched the kids skip ahead.

“Hey, Jen!”

_'Heey! What are you up to, girlie?'_

“Oh not much,” you smiled, carefully slipping past a group of teenagers that laughed loudly as you passed them by, “just at the park with Undyne and the rugrats.”

_'Need any help?'_

You laughed a bit, watching ahead of you as your group left the cement and wandered into the trees towards the hidden clearing, “if you wanna come say hi that's fine by me! Gaster is going to come with us too he just has to work a little bit before he drops by, just so you know. We're going to our usual spot.”

_'Oh! All right I'll be over in a few then, you don't mind if I bring Jake do you?'_

Blinking your grin faltered but you forced a smile and nodded, “sure, I'll see you guys soon.”

She said her goodbyes filled with excitement as you hung up and carefully pocketed the device as you stepped through the trees beside Undyne, the kids jumping over hills and scrambling between the towering trunks of the aspens.

“Jenny's gonna come too?” Undyne snickered as you glanced up to her, taking in her strong form as she effortlessly trekked through the uneven ground. 

“Yeah..” you smiled, swallowing down your doubts about Jake. You reassured yourself with the fact that Jenny wouldn't date a jerk.

 

***

 

Jake grinned as he watched Jenny skip on to her bedroom to get on a better pair of shoes for running around in, bringing up his phone as he lounged on the couch and brought up his text messages. This was it, he would finally be meeting the Ghoul. As he texted he heard the girl call out from her room giddily, “you're going to be meeting Undyne too! She's pretty kick ass, babe.”

“I dunno man, me getting to hang with the cool kids makes me feel like an awkward kid in Jr. High!” he laughed as his fingers typed something completely off this upbeat tone, “what if I say the wrong thing?”

He could hear her giggling from the room, she had so much life.. perhaps things could work out after this was said and done. Her happy voice projected itself into the room, “you wont! If you got along with Sans everyone else is a cake walk.”

The skeleton.. he hardly seemed effected by the jammer, it was surprising as he should have blacked out from it. What made it even more interesting was the fact that the girl had also reacted to it.. that they were not expecting. It would make this next phase even more crucial, if she was connected to the ghoul through magic it would make it so much easier to trap it.

He pipped up with a light laugh, “if you say so, babe!”

Sending the text he only had to wait a few moments before his phone lit up with a response as Jenny skipped down the hall to the living room, the man stood as he glanced over the message.

_'We beat you here, we'll test the new prototype on it since they already suspect you.'_

“Ready to get going..?” the woman smiled to him as she sauntered on up, she was always so touchy it made it hard for him to delete the conversation before pocketing his phone with a playful smirk.

“Lead the way, Princess! I may get lost,” she just shook her head as she grabbed his hand and walked with him out of the door. For some reason his heart began to pick up, he'd be finally seeing that monster that traumatized Dennis so horribly.. the monster that probably killed Robert.

Everything was falling into place.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hello G's desk my old friend,  
> I'm getting fucked on you again." - dirtyskellylover


	12. My Boyfriend can beat up your Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake starts revealing his true motives.

There were a lot of people in the clearing this morning. Kids, humans and monsters alike all mingling and soaking in the Sunday sun. Your nervousness melted away as Undyne ordered your group to flood across the clearing, her stride matching yours as the kids serpentined to the garden. The buttercups were blooming beautifully and were simply radiant, the rain must have really been good for them as they seemed to almost shimmer. You were too caught up in your admiration of the flowers to notice two younger men nodding to each other on the other side of the gazebo as you trailed between the walkway to look at the flowers. 

Undyne spoke up on the other side of the planter, perusing as Frisk and Asriel were crouched down to observe a white butterfly, “Asgore had these flowers all over the throne room..”

You listened to her story with a smile as you stepped casually around the kids as Asriel muttered to Frisk at your shins, Undyne went on, “I remember when he would train me and the petals would just get knocked all over the place, it was so kick ass!”

You laughed along with her, shaking your head as you stopped and looked up to her. You watched as she lightly adjusted her eye patch and turned to look across the field, “maybe one day I'll get to be as good of a trainer as Asgore was with me.”

“Don't you and Papyrus train a lot though..?” you asked, watching the woman grin and look back to you while placing her hands on her hips.

“Yeah! He is pretty freakin' tough! Though he doesn't really have the.. grit to be a real warrior, he's too nice.”

Smiling softly you nodded, giggling, “I wish I got to spend more time with him.. he's a sweet guy.”

“Well if he gets his ass over here we will be able to all train together! Even if you can't use magic you can still train your body, fuhuhu!”

You grinned sheepishly, if only she knew. You folded your arms as Undyne looked to the kids and barked at them. The kids immediately jumped up and looked to Undyne as she jerked her head to the open field, they scrambled out into the grass as she turned to peer at you from over her shoulder, “gonna join us for a warm up?”

Giggling you shook your head, “I'll keep an eye out for the others, go on without me.”

“Suit yourself, punk!” she smirked just before bolting across the grass after the kids that squealed and tried to out run her, surprisingly Frisk was a pro at dodging the warrior as they played their game of tag.

There was a lot of movement around the clearing as you gazed across the field, a soft breeze pulling at your hair and tank top as you stood confident and glowing amidst the flowers. You hadn't even noticed two men casually walking along the path behind you until one of them spoke up just beside you, “beautiful day, huh?”

Blinking you turned to look over your shoulder as a younger gentlemen, probably mid-late twenties, stepped up beside you in a t-shirt with his hands in his jeans. He was smiling kindly as it caused you to smile as well as you nodded, “yeah, it's really nice after that storm we got.”

The man nodded, looking across the field as another voice popped up on your other side, startling you a bit as this voice was young, “my bro would really just like your number-”

Blinking you looked to the new face, he had shaggy brown hair and a large grin which was flashing at you. Awkwardly you took a step forward and spun around to face the two as the first man looked nervous and hissed, “Mike don't be a prick-”

“Awe c'mon Logan.. I know you never were gonna ask-”

Giggling lightly you shook your head, grabbing their attention as Logan blushed sheepishly as you spoke, “I appreciate the compliment but I'm taken.”

The younger brother, Mike, placed an arm around Logan's neck as he drawled and gestured lightly with his hand, “not even gonna give my bro a chance..?”

Blinking you took a slight step back, your heel hitting the planter box as Logan shrugged the boy off and lightly pushed him to the side. The man looked to you with great sincerity and a blush as he murmured, “s-sorry about that.. My brother can be-” the boy leaned heavily against the hand, forcing Logan to push him away as Mike laughed, “-obnoxious.”

You felt the older brother was being genuine and Mike just reminded you of irritating teenagers though he definitely had character, it kept a smile on your lips as he shook his shaggy hair and grinned to you while stuffing his hands in his dark jeans, “you sure this boyfriend of yours can compare with my bro?”

Logan hissed, “Mike-”

“He was in the Navy you know,” the boy winked, grinning to his brother who began to rub the back of his neck.

You just grinned and hummed, “that's cool, thank you for your service.. was it Logan?-”

The man nodded as the younger brother kept his eyes trained on you while you lifted your chin and went on, “my boyfriend is a veteran too.”

“I-i never saw combat or anything.. you don't need to be thanking me,” Logan smiled genuinely as he dropped his hand while Mike shifted on his feet as he eyed you suspiciously and asked.

“What branch?”

Blinking you met his hard stare with your own, “he wasn't from the United States military.”

They both blinked at that, their posture straightening up as curiosity took over though you didn't want to really continue this topic as you spoke up, “I should be getting back to my friends, it was nice meeting you both-”

“Wait up a second-” Mike spoke, stepping up to you and stopped just before your personal space as he craned his head to look at your neck which you reflexively turned the bitten shoulder away from him as he blinked up to you.

“Are you that girl from the news..?”

Your smile became strained as Logan grabbed his younger brothers shoulder and pulled him back a ways, noticing how off put and uncomfortable you were getting as he spoke down to the boy, “stop being so pushy dude..”

“I'm just curious,” he sighed and allowed his brother to back him off a bit.

You gently nodded, looking to Logan as he blinked and glanced at the marking briefly before meeting your eyes, “sorry.. didn't mean to stare. It's a cool tattoo.”

“T-thanks..” you murmured, trying to settle back down as they were back out of your personal space and allowed you to square up once more. 

Logan was much better to interact with than the younger brother as he spoke up, “sorry, didn't mean to bother you.”

You let out a soft breath and nodded, lightly laughing, “it's all right.”

Mike reached into his pocket, gripping onto his phone as he shifted his weight onto his other hip while grinning to you once more, “you guys get along really well.. you should totally get his number.”

Logan looked exasperated while you could only giggle and shake your head at the interaction, what else were little brothers for..?

You still spoke kindly, “wish I could bud, sorry.”

“Nothing's stopping you..” he worded slyly, looking around, “he's not around.”

Logan elbowed the kid hard in the side, pulling a grunt and an annoyed scoff from the teen as an itch in the back of your mind began to nudge forth into your chest. Swallowing dryly your soul reacted to the magic within your body, starting to quiver lightly as the boy kept speaking and took a strong step forward, “I won't tell on you or anything.. besides I bet my bro can beat him up.”

This kid had no sense of personal space, you didn't want to step on the flowers so you held your ground as Logan pressed forward with his brother. You felt cornered, your soul shuddering and just like that there was a tall shadow cast across you from behind. The two brothers looked up, gasping as they backed away while a reverberating growl wove through the air. The sound was much like a bass line tremor and while it startled them it relaxed and settled you. 

Gently clearing your throat you dropped your arms to your sides as you spoke up to the bewildered brothers, “I have to disagree with you on that..”

Gaster stood tall and intimidating behind you, his hood was drawn while his white bright eyes seemed to glow across his shadowed face down into the two humans before him which cowered at his prowess. His large black scar was clearly visible up along the side of his throat with his hands tucked behind his back, the sleeves of his dark gray zip up were pressed up above his elbows to showcase the scars and scrapes along his pale flesh.

You watched as they seemed frozen in place, this interaction was grabbing a lot of attention as the Lich was absolutely massive and easily identifiable from his cracked eerie features. Feeling his magic brush along your soul you fully relaxed as you brought up a hand and waved to them, “it was nice to meet you both, have a nice day.”

They merely just began to back pedal as you turned around and looked up to the Lich though he kept his gaze directly on the two humans before him, their prey-like behavior had made his eyes dilate. You noticed this immediately, bringing a hand up and set your fingertips against his abdomen. With your back turned you were missing how Mike fumbled in his pocket, his hands shaky before he finally reached the button and pressed it.

A high pitched ringing pressed into your skull, making you flinch and grunt at the noise as your hands went up to the side of your head. The marks upon your skin flared as if mini daggers were stabbing into your flesh, the pain paired well with the inability to think from the ringing clattering around in your brain. Other monsters within a hundred yard radius crumbled to the ground while you heard Undyne snarl from clear off behind the both of you though luckily the kids were far enough away that Asriel didn't get hit. 

The Lich remained visually unaffected with his sockets narrowing onto the younger brother, a deep rolling growl drawing from his throat as his magic lashed outward against the driving noise. This primitive barrier was no match for him though his muscles felt tight from the attempt, his scars squirmed along his flesh at the ringing invading his skull yet he suppressed the urge to physically lash out. Mike was just caught in this deadly glare, the device in his hand slowly heating up while it continued to radiate the jamming signal before the boy gasped. With a yelp he threw his phone from his pocket and jumped away as the device sputtered, smoked and then suddenly burst into flame with a rather loud BANG. 

Jolting from the explosion you whirled around, pressing your back into the Lich while your heart raced as your eyes widened onto the flames licking up at the air in a shower of sparks. The monsters in the effected radius groaned and rubbed their faces as the noise was cut off while the humans and monsters a safe distance away went silent as they watched the two brothers bolt towards the treeline. You both watched them go, Gaster's vicious magic thrumming and pressing heavily into the air in his rage as he remained planted firmly behind you. A deep, gravely exhale pressed through his throat as Undyne corralled the kids over to the both of you and looked up at the Lich. 

She thought about patting him on the back but she could feel the dark pressure swirling within him and instead just exhaled in a laugh, “that was kick ass!”

Sighing you brought your hands up and rubbed at your face, feeling as if you were going to form a headache from the onslaught as you murmured against your palms, “thank you, G..”

The scientist eyed the smoldering flames, he had overwhelmed the device with so much friction that the battery burst.. interesting. The color of the sparks fizzling into the air would have to be a replacement for the bright crimson ribbons of blood that deserved to be painted amongst the golden buttercups.

You felt Undynes hand rest on your shoulder as the kids rounded in front of you and looked cautiously to the fire display going on against the stone path from the burst cell phone. The warrior spoke gently to you, “you all right, punk?”

Nodding you let your hands slip from your face as you sighed and looked to Undyne, the light throbbing in your skull beginning to subside, “yeah, are you okay?”

She smirked, her jagged teeth shimmering in the sunlight as she chuckled, “we get exposed to those things all the damn time, it's nothing I can't handle!”

Blinking you stood up straight as the woman let her hand fall while she watched the cellphone sputter and fizzle out to a smoking heap on the ground, a light whistle blew through her lips as she folded her arms, “ _that_ is something I have yet to see though!”

Pulling your gaze away from the smoking plume you found a few brave monsters step over to your group though they remained about twenty feet away as the Lich's aura was tense. They smiled in relief as they gave their thanks and Gaster flicked his eyes between them all, silent. You noticed they were okay with his stoic behavior before walking away after saying their peace to the looming monster at your back, the others in the area were murmuring among themselves as you took a step away from the scientist and turned to look up at him from over your shoulder with a relaxed sigh. The sensation in your marks and head having fully faded now as you spoke.

“Guess you're a celebrity now too, G.”

His eyes flicked back up to the tree line, sensing those human souls fade out of reach as he ran his tongue along the inside of his sharp jaws.

 

***

 

“Is it following us?” Mike panted as they dove through the trees back out into the main park but kept running until they got to the brick wall where they finally stopped and looked back, finding nothing but the slow passing of families and friends trailing around the park none the wiser.

“N-no..” Logan breathed, pulling his phone out of his pocket as the young brother shook his hair and spat about his phone being 'fucking destroyed'.

The mans hands were too shaky to text, instead he just hit the call button and brought the phone up to his face as he leaned back against the cool brick while Mike paced around in front of him pumped with adrenaline.

There was an answer,  _'M-yellow?'_

“Jake.. Jake- It fucking blew up Mike's phone-”

_'Hold on, man-'_

Jaw tight the man pressed forth, knowing he shouldn't be calling but it needed to be said, “we can't use jammers on it.. man.. It's fucking  _strong_ ..”

“That thing is scary as fuck.. did you see the way it looked at me?” Mike whined, bringing his hands up through his hair before roughly shaking it out, “I say let it fuck whatever it wants, this is fucked up..”

Jake spoke through the brothers rambling, calmly and collected,  _'I understand, just go home Dennis you can have my left overs if you want.'_

Logan had no idea how well he could disguise his voice as there was a gentle laugh pressing into the receiver, it made the man pause before he said his final piece, “don't fuck around with that thing, dude.. I think we underestimated this ghoul, that upgraded jammer should have made both of them black out.”

There was a long pause, Logan listening nervously as he heard a muffled, blissful conversation before Jake's voice growled into the receiver,  _'don't be a fucking pussy.'_

Logan swallowed dryly, looking across the park as his brother continued to pace and seethe, _'Someone has to bring that sick fuck to Justice.'_

The call cut off, leaving the two brothers winded. Reality back handed them both as they recovered from the interaction, a heavy taste of the power they were up against melted in their mouth. This would change everything, they'd have to up the ante otherwise .. they were shit out of luck.

 

***

 

You could tell that Gaster was still high strung from that encounter, he shadowed you as you gently walked through the garden with Frisk and Asriel. It had been about half an hour since the incident but the kids had shaken the event off well, it unnerved you to know that they had experienced these jammers while doing their political endeavors. Undyne also hardly seemed effected as she ranted into the phone by the gazebo. The clearing wound down back into the swing of things, the hit monsters had cleared out and allowed fresh faces onto the scene. You didn't even notice Jenny until she called out from the field to your right.

Your eyes lifted as you gently smiled and waved to your friend, the Lich's face shadowed as his bright eyes peered out from under the dark hood. A light breeze rustled the soft fabric covering the scientist as Jenny strode over hand in hand with Jake, he was in a button up and jeans while she wore a cute sweater and white jeans. He had his eyes glued onto the Lich who equally stared him down, you couldn't help but to notice a twinge of fear gracing his features as Jenny had to drag him up to the both of you.

Your friend blinked as she looked down to Asriel and Frisk in the flower bed who smiled sleepily up at her as the goat chimed, “you missed the drama!” 

Jenny blinked wildly as you explained with a gentle laugh, “some jerks used a magic jammer on G..”

Her eyes widened as she gasped and let go of Jake's hand to step forward to the both of you, looking up at the Lich as he ignored her, “you all right?”

The Lich's magic was twisting within his solid frame as he focused to the amber eyes of the man beside Jenny who stared back up to him. You knew the scientist wasn't going to talk so you sighed and waved your hand lightly, “nothing bothers him, Jen.”

The girl nodded with a smile as Jake found himself stuck in a moment in time nearly frozen, there was something.. wrong about this monster. It was nothing like he had ever experienced before, a demon was standing before him. He was starting to understand why everyone walked away from encounters with it so heavily jarred.

You glanced up and saw Jake staring, a muscle in his neck twitching as he gazed above you to the massive monster at your back. Clearing your throat you managed to slowly pull the man's stares away and to you, “hello, Jake. This is WD Gaster, he doesn't talk very much so don't take it personally.”

It was as if something clicked in the mans mind as he lightly laughed, his wary expression shattering as he grinned and set his hands in his jeans, “no worries! So, some jerks tried to mess around with another app or something?”

You both looked down as Asriel snorted loudly, “those are everywhere but I haven't seen monsters actually nearly collapse.”

Swallowing at this information you couldn't help but to drop your happy expression, it seemed as if these attacks were getting more frequent.. were people just using them as a defense system? Gaster was a rather large and intimidating monster but it didn't call for that, humans were so easily terrified. Frisk and Asriel watched a lady bug scamper over some yellow petals while Gaster continued to study Jake, this human smelt foul regardless of the yellow soul resting within his chest. 

Jenny glanced over to spot Undyne gesturing aggressively with her free hand as she barked into the phone, her facial fins quivering in anger as she retold the story of what happened for the third time.

Jake sincerely spoke up, drawing your attention, “man.. what scum bags, did everyone get hit..?”

You shook your head, smiling, “Luckily the kids were too far away. Undyne is pretty tough but she's a bit irritated from it, G didn't feel a thing.”

Blinking the man glanced up to the monster to find it still staring at him, it was as if the monster was a statue as only his clothes lightly tossed in the gentle breeze. It began to make his skin crawl though he kept sincerity across his features as he looked back to you with confusion, you noticed his odd expression and lightly laughed.

“He doesn't get bothered by anything, he's got thick skin.”

Jake glanced up quickly once more, he had been so focused on the monsters face he hardly noticed the black, tattered scars slashed across his flesh in varying angles though the largest most wicked of them all trailed up along the monsters throat. How could anything live through a blow like that..? He swallowed lightly and met your eyes once more as he smiled sheepishly while Jenny stood up as she chimed, “Gaster's just awesome like that, huh Sunshine?”

Giggling you nodded, feeling comfortable with the scientist at your back pressing his warmth into your spine as you teased, “he's the best though he can't compare to you, Wifey.”

She playfully gasped, drawing her hands up over her heart as she slowly blinked to you while Asriel scoffed from the ground with Frisk giggling beside him wildly as she replied, “you toy with my heart.. first Sans-” that made the Lich's socket twitch, “-now Gaster.. yet you still call me Wifey?”

Laughing you carefully stepped around the two kids as you pulled her into a hug, the both of you giggling heartily as you continued to tease one another. Though as you moved away Jake got a full, up close look at the Lich's body structure. He noticed the zip up hoodie was thin as the monsters rib cage jutted against the fabric as did his narrow hips, even his shoulders were sharp with his collar bones protruding against his white and black torn skin. He was definitely an undead type of monster..

Undyne suddenly barked off to the side as she strolled back up, “so bone boys won't be over as they are talking with Asgor-” she cut herself off as her eye trained onto Jake, a sneer cutting into her face as you stood beside Jenny who waved to the warrior and spoke up.

“Undyne! This is Jake, my boyfriend.”

The warrior oddly looked over the human as she took powerful steps forward, she expected the human to back away but he remained standing firm as he smiled at her and held out his hand, “it's nice to meet you!”

Gaster slowly trailed his eyes over to watch as the warrior clasped her webbed hand in his, nearly crushing his hand as she snickered, “always nice to meet more punks!”

She was a lot like her mother, deja vu prodding at the Lich's mind though the exact memory wouldn't pull up as his eyes darted back to the human while they pulled away from each other and struck up a conversation. As they talked the Lich's magic continued to twist and writhe, this human was too confident around Undyne yet timid when faced with him. That didn't seem very logical.

Undyne managed to get the kids riled back onto their feet with the help of Jake and Jenny that also threw in teasing comments as you giggled to the scene. Excitement filled the air as Undyne ran forward and shoved into Jake's chest, nearly knocking him off balance as the kids and Jenny scattered in a new game of tag. 

Grinning you watched him spin around and teasingly chase after Frisk who was giggling madly, you took this opportunity to look up at the scientist with your expression dropping. He was simply fixated on Jake for some reason, the Lich's body rigid with his sockets slightly narrowed. You hadn't seen this expression in a long time, slowly you stepped up to him as his eyes flicked down to you as you murmured with a gentle smile, “wanna walk with me..?”

He remained silent, you were really worrying how much effect that jammer had on him though you really knew he was wrestling with his anger. You could feel it churning within him and against your soul but he eventually did dip his chin to you, a deep exhale grating through his chest as you glanced around and found only a few eyes watching you. Unsure of how to proceed publicly with the monster you merely set your hands in your pockets as you turned to stride along the flowers, leaving the game of tag behind as the Lich followed just behind your shoulder like a body guard.

As you led him into the trees, blocking the both of you from prying eyes amber ones still managed to follow you as the stillness of the trees and rustling of the canopy enveloped the both of you. This is when you decided to speak, “you all right, G..? That hit me really hard..”

He knew, it had taken every fiber of his being to not instantly lurch forward at both the humans but he also understood the ramifications of that act would be much worse in such a public place and he dared not risk your involvement. You allowed the silence to creep in as you stepped carefully through the trees. He did end up speaking, though his voice was heavy and strained as if he were speaking simply because you asked it of him, “I am fine, my dear.”

Smirking you spoke, “I think you scared that kid so bad he would have tried pepper spraying you, G.”

“It is a common reaction.”

Giggling you looked up to him, blinking as you asked, “seriously..?”

He met your eyes with a flat expression as a gentle breeze billowed against your loose tank top, “the only creature to not fear me has been you.”

“Pfft,” you chuckled, “you scared me plenty when we first met..”

He hummed lightly, his tense muscles easing with the slow pace of your aimless trailing through the shattered light shimmering down from the canopy. You took that as a hint to continue, “I thought you locked me in that room.. like you were just saving to eat me later or something.”

A gentle smile tugged at his mouth as you went on, your smile growing, “but you're really easy to just.. be around. I guess other people would feel awkward but I like just being in silence sometimes, company isn't about needing to entertain the other person all the time or be engaging.. Sharing a moment can be enough.”

The Lich's gaze trailed down to you, watching as you carefully stepped over larger fallen branches, light on your feet as you padded across the Earth on your tip toes. A breeze rustled through the leaves and combed ribbons through your hair, exposing the bite mark as you grinned and eyed your footing.

“My dear..” he began, drawing your attention up to him, “I find myself enjoying all moments spent with you.”

Blushing you grinned sheepishly as you brought your hand up, slightly turning to slip your arm in the crook of his elbow as you kept walking, “same, G..”

In the void the scientist had thought for many, many years on what he would do with his life once he was free. Never would he had dreamed of this moment, a human on his arm whose energy rivaled the very sun the underground had longed for. A stirring warmed his chest as a gentle hum reverberated through his form, pulling a deeper grin over your lips as you finally got the monster to relax.

 

***

 

Panting heavily from the game Jake looked back out over the forest as Jenny pipped up beside him, “you keep lookin' out there, babe.. Something wrong?” she was equally tired from running around as they played tag. The children were faster than they had anticipated and it seemed only Frisk could somewhat outrun Undyne, the man had to take a moment to catch his breath before he turned to her.

“You sure your friend is all right alone with that g-.. monster?”

She sputtered and began to laugh as the other three padded up, Undyne had hardly had broken a sweat as she cackled, “Fuhuhu! You scared of a nerd, punk?”

Blinking wildly the man looked to the warrior, her fins twitching at her cheeks as Asriel dryly laughed and folded his arms across his chest. Jake found it odd how strong headed and observant the child was as he stared up straight into his eyes as he spoke, “you were going to say Ghoul weren't you?”

Frisk blinked up to the man, panting as he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, “caught that did ya? Sorry, I'm just not sure what else to call him.”

“Gaster,” Jenny teased, “unless you want to get cuddly then call him 'G' like Sunshine.”

Jake's smile strained, like he'd ever let that demon touch him.

Undyne crossed her arms, leaning on one hip as she answered his question, “that girl is in the safest spot in the entire city right now, you should have seen how he blew that phone up just by  _staring_ at it!”

Asriel grinned, looking up to Undyne with excitement, “I saw the sparks but didn't see it explode-”

“It was AWESOME!” she cackled, Frisk giggling along with Asriel as Jake became lost in his thoughts. They couldn't rely on auditory devices anymore.. all that work and time.. it didn't matter, this only put them back on the right track. There was no doubt in his mind that the creature did something horrible to Dennis and even though he had no solid proof he knew that it was connected to Robert's disappearance.

 

Somehow the monsters had all roped him into another game but this time it was freeze tag, his body was aching and he was so tired by the end of the hour yet as he looked around he still found the two gone. Undyne gathered up the panting, exhausted kids as Jenny leaned up into his side. The man wrapped his arm around her as he breathed, “you guys headin' out?”

The warrior nodded, hardly effected by the light game, “gotta get these kiddos home, it was nice to meet ya, punk!”

He laughed lightly and nodded but as she turned away he looked to Jenny as he murmured, “should we wait here for your friend..?”

She snickered, placing her palm on his chest, “why are you so worried..?”

He lightly shrugged, giving her a sheepish grin as she sighed and went on, “seriously, Gaster looks really intimidating but he really cares about her a lot. Nothing is going to happen.”

“How can you tell..? He just- stares!” he laughed as Jenny giggled while he led them back the way they came into the park, Undyne barking in the background at the kids as they walked away in the opposite direction.

“Well apparently he is very passionate,” she mused as Jake's eyes scanned the treeline as they entered it to head towards the Northern exit, “he'd take a bullet for her..”

Jake wasn't so sure if he could count on that. If this monster was capable of torture it was capable of manipulating a human for it's own selfish needs, the way it hovered over her as if he owned that girl.. it left a foul taste in his mouth. As they left the park Jenny got a phone call, as she was distracted he pulled out his own phone and simply texted.

_'Start plan B, the girl is the key to lure it out.'_

As the woman laughed beside him his eyes quickly read the reply,  _'L and M suggested tranqs.'_

Jake responded with a final, _'we have bullets if that doesn't work.'_

_'from hell, love Rob.'_

The man smirked as he deleted the conversation and strolled beside the woman as she chatted with her friend, he overheard that they bounced but that was all right. 

He got all the information he needed today, it wouldn't be long now.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.  
> This doesn't look good.
> 
> TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF: "ALOE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLANNING GET BACK TO WRITING RIGHT NOW DAMNIT"


	13. Mandatory Screening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting is called back at the lab and you're invited, though it's not what you expected and not something you could have prepared yourself for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it has been longer than usual for me to update. This chapter is polished and ready to go but the next is still rough and the other needs to be written, school work has held some of my time so that's why it's been a little harder to bang out pages but I hope this will help tide you guys over until the weekend.  
> <3

 

You giggled into the phone as you were back in the Lich's office, sitting cross legged on his desk as you watched the Lich pull on his regular gray turtleneck, taking in his strong lower back and hips as he adjusted the fabric across his torso. You had gotten a text from Alphys that told you to meet in the lobby of the research facility so Gaster took you along with him.

“Yeah I guess there is going to be a meeting and I'm included.”

 _'I know you didn't even say goodbye you bitch!'_ you both giggled as the scientist draped his heavy lab coat over his shoulders and snorted, his gaze flicking to you and you smiled to him as you spoke into the receiver, “I'm sorry Jen, somethin' is always going on isn't it?”

_'Yeaah that's the truth, well let me know what's happening I'll text you!'_

“Sure thing, girlfriend,” you chuckled as you hung up the phone while you looked over to the vats against the wall, noticing the second one was now in use and sustained a similar blobby concoction.

Curiously you examined the machine as the doctor slowly stepped up to you, hands behind his back as you spoke up, “what else are you guys working on..?”

You set the phone down over the deep gashes in the wood as he stood before you and murmured, “Doctor Alphys found it best to create two serums, while one is of my own efforts the other is a less aggressive formula.”

Blinking you looked up to him, “is yours dangerous or something..?”

“Indeed,” he murmured, speaking flatly, “it is possible not all would survive it's administration.”

Swallowing dryly you wetted your lips as you bit into your cheek, thinking for a moment though as he watched you his voice found him once more, “it is nothing to be concerned of.”

“Is this what this meeting is about..?”

He snorted, his undamaged socket slightly narrowing while he felt a bitter taste draw into his mouth.

Watching him a gentle smile pulled at your lips as you relaxed, a giggle stirring from your lungs as you studied his blank expression. You brought your hands up to rest against his chest and purred up at him, “you look absolutely riveted by the thought of a meeting..”

A soft huff pressed through his chest as he gazed down to you while muttering, “apparently the team investigating these magic blocking incidents have humans working along with them, I do not know why they insist on bothering my own associates with their pitiful display.”

Smirking you just giggled up to him, today was not a very good day for the scientist, “awe c'mon G.. why wouldn't they come ask for your advice..?” you murmured, gently trailing your fingers over the ribbing in his turtleneck.

“I am a scientist, not an adviser,” he uttered.

You just lightly shook your head, smiling as you set your forehead against his chest as he stood firmly before you while you laughed, “well it must be important if they want to bother you so much.”

The monster rolled his eyes, he could already think of a few individuals that loved to pester him just for the sake of causing disruption. You lifted your head back up and scooted up to the edge of the desk so you could reach your arms around him, pressing into his chest as your fingertips dug into his back.

“Settle down big guy, I can do the talking for you.”

“Mnn, and if they ask your relation to me, my dear?”

You cracked a smirk as you pulled back to look up at him, your hands resting on his ribs while you lowered your eyelids, “I say it's none of their damn business.”

This pulled a light smirk from the Lich as he hovered down towards you, stretching and arching your back you lightly brushed your lips against his mouth just as there was a banging on the door. It startled you and drew a heavy growl from the scientist as he straightened back up, slightly turning to look over his shoulder though he kept you trapped on the desk as a heavy voice pressed into the room.

“We are waiting on you, Doctor.”

Blinking you peered around the Lich as he stayed still, your marks beginning to itch with his irritation as you met gazes with an older man with short black hair and a mustache. He had bushy eyebrows and deep lines beneath his eyes as he stared at the both of you with a hardened expression, he reminded you of some sort of detective. The man glanced over the two of you one more time before he stepped back and walked down the hall, allowing the door to close behind him as you looked up to Gaster.

You could feel his chest rumbling as he suppressed another growl, his magic welling within him as you gently patted his ribs and slid your hands off of his chest. The Lich took a slight step back to allow you to hop off of the desk, leaving your phone behind as you carefully rounded him and walked over to the double doors with the scientist right on your heels. A bony hand pushed the door open to allow you both to pass before dissipating, the metal shut loudly behind you as you meandered forth to the lobby to find all the technicians gathered around.

Feeling a tad nervous you tentatively stepped forward into the throng who made way for the scientist, shying their gazes away as you walked through them. Shifting white lab coats made way for you though one remained rather still, this caught your eye as you looked up to meet gazes with big black eyes of a furry, weasel-esc monster. She had a long body, snow white fur and doe-like eyes hiding behind a pair of red frames nestled snugly on her short snout. You blinked at this monster who gently smiled to you as she carefully stepped out of the way for you two to pass, her black tipped tail flicking as she did so. The scientist didn't even care to acknowledge this technician as you passed by, your eyes lingered on this monster trying to place what species she was but the large black lab coat of the Lich cut your gaze off and you instead trained your eyes forward once more.

It wasn't long until you spotted Alphys off to the side of the room, you carefully made your way over to stand beside her. As you came up to her she lightly jumped but then smiled to you sweetly as you nodded with your own grin while Gaster stood right up against your back expressionless.

Your gaze was then directed up to the front of the room with a few more men of similar looks talking amongst themselves. You recognized the detective as he looked up and cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention as he began to speak, “there have been multiple attacks on monsters within the city, each one stronger than the last and all seeming to be targeting specific monster types.”

You swallowed dryly as he continued, “we feel it is for the betterment of everyone to fully classify monster types so we can get a handle on who is being targeted. This way we can get a better understanding on what is happening.”

The man glanced across the monsters watching him before he went on, “during your social integration you all were allowed to submit your own species types but now we have come up with a highly detailed category system that will require the cooperation of everyone, all monsters on the surface will have to go through these tests but we are starting here to make sure this isn't a terrorist threat to the royal work you are conducting.”

The monster at your back kept his hardened, cold gaze at the detective as he spoke. The man noticed this and instantly met his glare, squaring his chest up to the Lich as the crowd followed his gaze to Gaster but they were too nervous to look directly in his eyes as the detective went on, “those who refuse will be deported to the underground until they comply with the laws and regulation of this country.”

You felt a vibration churn along your soul and markings as the scientist snorted silently behind you, he'd like to see them try.

The man turned his gaze over the room once more, “we know you are all very busy and don't want to keep you longer than need be, our team has set up in each exam room ready to take records.. If you would please line up and we will get through everyone in an orderly fashion.”

As the man waved away the crowd a few other team members directed the technicians though you ignored this flow as you turned to Alphys, you had expected a meeting not an actual _medical_ activity. A large space was given to your group as the presence of the Lich seemed to make the other monsters shy away, you pipped up against the chatter of the lobby to Alphys, “they can't be serious right..? You can't make everyone get a physical because of some punk kids..”

Alphys nervously tapped her claws together as she sighed, “i-it's not th-that bad. T-this way t-they can h-help k-keep t-track of w-who is g-getting th-the brunt of t-the attacks so w-we c-can look out f-for them..”

The scientist's irritation meshed with your own as you breathed, “sounds like an excuse to label G as a ghoul publicly..”

Alphys spoke up timidly, almost at a whisper, “a l-lich cl-classification w-would b-be even w-worse..”

Sighing you brought a hand up to your face, unease churning in your gut. You already knew Gaster's answer to the entire situation and you had a feeling everyone else knew it too, you didn't notice the mustached man step up to your group from the side as you spoke, “yeah.. but if you think G is going to go along with this you're shitting yourself-”

“Doctor Gaster has no choice-” blinking you looked over to the man as he stepped up and held his hand out to you, carefully you raised your hand to take his but a summoned hand back handed the man's wrist away from you. The act was quick, the hand vanishing at the detective blinked wildly and peered up at the Lich with a glare beginning to form on his features.

No way was the scientist going to allow some pushy human to put his hands on you, this was the third attempt of the day by grabby males in such a short time span that it began to truly irritate the monster.

Quickly you tried to save face, not entirely sure why the Lich was being so protective but that was a topic best discussed later. You folded your arms and gained the mans attention once more, “sorry.. I should have had them fill you in, I just really value my personal space..”

The man grumbled as he dropped his hand and spoke, “odd to say that when you are standing so close.”

Blinking you felt a blush rising but managed to settle down as you replied with a friendly smile, “we just met, I've been friends with Alphys and Gaster for a long time now. You understand.”

The man raised his brow, not fully believing you as the Lich as your back seemed to be staring right through him. However the detective let it slide as he took in a breath and spoke calmly, “my name is Carl Briggs, I help assist the division responsible for protecting both monsters and humans in this city.”

“With all due respect-” you tried but were cut off, the Lich's eyes narrowing as the man went on.

“Is there a reason you feel the need to disrupt our work, miss..?”

“I'm WD Gaster's translator,” you huffed before stating your true name as politely as you could, unsure why this man was being so abrasive. Carl's eyes flicked to your neck then back into your face with an annoyed expression as you went on, “I feel it would be unwise to have so much public information available on a monster who is being incriminated by rumors and speculation.”

“Seeing as the Doctor wrote his application in an odd language nobody can decipher he owes it to the city to cooperate.”

Wow. This guy was ballsy. A deep reverberation permeated out across the lobby and made all of the technicians flinch away from your group, the man seemed slightly confused at this occurrence as he looked up to the doctor as he muttered in his dark, eerie accent.

“I owe Humanity nothing.”

Alphys lightly shook beside you with anxiety, holding her hands tightly in front of her chest as the man looked to you, awaiting a translation. Taking in a breath you exhaled and spoke, “he is working specifically for the monsters under his care, they are dying Mister Briggs.. surely that takes precedence-”

“Nice try but it doesn't ma'am. We have prepared a special room specifically for the both of you if you would just follow me,” he gave you a hard stare as you nervously looked up to the Lich who looked utterly emotionless.

Alphys gently grabbed your arm, pulling your gaze down to her as she smiled to you reassuringly while murmuring, “i-i'll co-come too..”

You sighed heavily but nodded to her, Carl didn't seem too happy about this but he simply turned and walked back towards the corridor you had came from. Carefully you followed, the Lich hovering over you and his intimidating presence forced the technicians lining the walls to push back against the surface in an attempt to lean away from his heavy magic though you recognized the white furry creature from earlier standing at ease as she merely just adjusted her glasses as you passed by her once more. You figured she must be used to Gaster's presence though you missed how she watched your group stride down the hall, her eyes glancing over the mark on your neck before it was her turn for the Lich to obscure her view.

The detective led you all to the end of the hall by Gaster's office and opened the last door on the left, stepping inside you looked around curiously. There was an exam table in the center of the room with a box of some sort open with a bunch of medical tools brimming inside, expensive lighting fixtures hung above the table while the far wall had a counter with cabinets above and below.

As you stepped inside you took notice of another man in the room wearing a polo shirt and had darker skin holding a clipboard, intelligent brown eyes smiled to you as you took in this new individual as he spoke, “it is nice to meet you formally, Doctor Gaster, Doctor Alphys and..?”

“Just call me Sun,” you smiled as the man nodded, Carl closed the door as he stayed standing right in front of it. All of you were so small compared to the Lich at your back as he studied the men, his throat tightening as he controlled his temper and felt a heat building into his limbs. For some reason the scent of these men on either side of him.. on either side of you.. began to build a raging fire in his chest.

Alphys let go of your arm as she adjusted her glasses nervously, the younger man came forward and extended his hand while still holding the clipboard in the other to shake both yours and Alphys' as he spoke, “my name is Beck Radford-”

The man yipped as his hand was smacked away rather hard by a floating apparition that quickly vanished just as it had came into existence, the loud cracking noise echoing in the room as Beck looked to the scientist with wide eyes seemingly stunned. Carl sighed heavily by the door as he pinched the bridge of his nose while a heat rose into your face as you glanced at the Lich though as your eyes met a deep churning nuzzled along your soul, sending a shiver through your spine as you lightly laughed to draw Beck's attention as you turned your gaze back to him, “sorry, I don't really like touching other people..”

“Ah, I see..” the man cleared his throat, looking over your features and while the scientist seemed bored he felt an inner fire coursing through his veins as this man studied you.. it was like his eyes were peeling over every small detail, touching you all over with his gaze. Apparently this human didn't take the hint.

Smiling politely you replied, “Gaster and I are good friends, he's just looking out for me. Are you hurt?”

The man shook his head, smiling to you which made the Lich toss his tongue against his fangs angrily as Beck looked up to him and said, “this should go by quickly, I have already filled out most of the paperwork. I know how it is to be a doctor and treated like a patient but this will be strictly professional and quick I assure you.”

His words had no meaning to the Lich. Alphys carefully stepped out of the way as you moved over to allow Beck to stand fully in front of the scientist with Carl watching carefully from the door, his arms folded across his chest.

Clearing your throat you grabbed the olive skinned mans attention, “he doesn't speak very often, why don't you just talk to me and I'll answer the best I can?”

“Well it's not that simple.. we need specific measurements and-”

Irritation coated the Lich's vocal inflections he strung off this information, you quickly repeated them to the man as he blinked rapidly and wrote them down. You were thankful the man wasn't being fussy and just accepted this information. It didn't entirely surprise you that Gaster knew so much off the top of his head, it must have intrigued him to leave the void with a new body. Thinking the exam was over you sighed and went to say your goodbyes but Carl just snorted as he drawled from the door, “not so fast.. we aren't done.”

Curiously you looked to Beck as he set down the clipboard on the exam table before reaching into the open box, rummaging around before he turned back around with a needle in his hand which made you flinch as the monster growled deep within his gut. The gravely, grating and pressured noise tremored through the air, flicking the lights in the room and startled the two men while you and Alphys just looked up to the Lich. His expression was completely blank yet his eyes were dilated and locked onto Beck. Slowly you turned to face the man and cleared your throat, “is that.. really necessary..?”

Alphys was silent as she looked around the room, filled with anxiety at the tension in the air as Carl spoke up, “every citizen has their blood type logged, including yours. Not many monsters bleed but we need a sample of their magic anyhow, it's important to write down this information in case something happens so we can identify them. We also need to know bite and grip strength.”

Blinking rapidly you felt a flush rise into your cheeks, remembering how the Lich pierced the desk so easily with his claws and the way his teeth sank into your flesh. You were broken from your thoughts as Beck stepped forward up to you, reaching his hand out for you to gently step aside but his hand was slapped away with a loud cracking sound. He hissed and stepped back, shaking his hand as he stared wide eyed at a floating, bony hand with it's digits twitching in irritation.

Carl growled by the door as he eyed the Lich, “there's no need for that kind of behavior.”

Gaster was too focused in on the man that tried to touch you _again_ , he hadn't seem scared until now as he backed off a bit more and stammered sheepishly, “sorry, it's a habit.”

Oh, a habit to not learn simple lessons..? Obviously. Being locked in a relatively small room with humans wanting to poke and prod at not only himself but his girl as well infuriated him. Her scent was being muddled by the other males in the room and for some reason that fact began to claw at his brain.

You could tell the Lich's patience was wearing thin, turning to Carl you spoke genuinely, “could you give us a bit of privacy, sir..?”

The man grunted, obviously not wanting to but as he looked past you to Beck he found the man nodding so he begrudgingly slid out of the room and closed the door behind him as he stood watch outside. With one less strange human in the room you hoped you could settle Gaster down as you turned and put your hand up on his arm, trying to shake his focus but he was fixated.

“G, the faster we do this the faster it's over with..”

 

It took a few minutes of talking him down to finally get the scientist to remove his coat, pull up his sleeve and rest his forearm down on the exam table with his palm facing upward. Gaster kept his eyes trained on Beck as he carefully stepped forward and moved slowly so the Lich knew exactly what was going on, afraid to trigger the scientist again. The man examined the strong flesh of the monster, his eyes trailing over the various scars and fissures twisting around the limb, you spoke up gently on the other side of the Lich as Beck uncapped the needle.

“How much do you need to take..?”

“Not a lot, just enough so we have it on record,” he replied, lining up the cold metal with a vein in the crook of the Lich's elbow as Beck gripped the monsters arm.

You tried to not cringe as you watched the needle sink towards his flesh but then it stopped, blinking wildly Beck tried to add more force behind the tool but the thing would simply not budge any farther. Looking up to Gaster you saw his blank expression falter as a light smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, a muscle in his bicep twitched right as the metal point of the needle snapped in two.

The man drew backwards, holding the broken syringe in his hand as he blinked wildly at the little gray dot left on the monsters hide. Alphys had watched the whole thing, her eyes wide as she quickly scampered around to the opposite wall and began shifting through the cabinet. She returned with a larger needle and stepped up beside you to hand it to Beck who shakily discarded the broken needle into a small orange container in his equipment box before taking the new one as she stammered, “i-it's t-the sm-smallest we h-have. I-it's f-for m-magic p-puncturing.”

He simply nodded to her as you glanced up at Gaster, he had a bored look on his face as his eyes met yours again. A light smirk tugged at your lips, he just wanted to fuck with these people and waste their time. Thinking loudly in your mind, _'you're such an amazing asshole.'_

His mouth slightly twitched before falling back into his stoic nature, his eyes looking back to Beck as he tried with a new needle and found the effort much easier though the dense flesh of the Lich was still difficult to pierce. You watched as the man's eyes went wide as he drew a thick, black sludge from the scientist and into the needle. Beck withdrew the syringe, prepared to block off the puncture but he just blinked in bewilderment as the scientist didn't bleed. Only a little black dot remained.

He lightly shook his head as he whirled around to put away the sample as he murmured, “first time I've ever seen something like that..”

Beck jumped a tad as the Lich snorted heavily while he stood up straight and rolled his sleeve back down before dawning his lab coat. You asked for the scientist as Beck finished packing away the sample, “are we done here..?”

“We just have one more test to take..”

You tried to suppress a sigh as the man turned around with an odd looking device in his hand, it was blocky and black. You couldn't get a good look at it as the man stepped forward to the scientist who folded his arms across his broad chest as he stared down to Beck while the man spoke, “we need to catalog anything that can relate with an attack which includes bite and grip strength. I have already written down your.. summoning ability.”

The scientist remained still as Beck held the device out for him awkwardly, you suppressed a laugh, “you guys really think he is going to rampage or something..?”

Sighing he glanced over to you, “no, but everyone has to do it..”

Alphys nodded, tapping her claws together as she murmured, “U-undyne l-liked this t-test a b-bit too much..”

A smile cracked over your face as you pictured that though the Lich was imagining a different way to test his grip strength by wrapping his dead, knuckled fingers around this scrawny humans neck. The urge only became stronger the longer this human was staring at you.

You broke the Lich's thoughts as you stepped up and looked at him while you chimed, “okay, I am really curious about this..”

He watched as your face lit up, the soft golden glow of your soul shimmering through your flesh and with a deep huff he refrained from rolling his eyes as he reached out for the device to take it in his grasp. The odd box was a bit small for his hand and the fact that he was missing a portion of his palm made it awkward to figure out the best way to hold it, as he toyed with the thing he placed his free hand into his pocket as Beck spoke up.

“Whenever you're ready just go for it and hold as long as you can, the device will beep when it's done processing the data.”

Interesting. A light exhale pressed through his chest as his grip slowly tightened around the device, his knuckles jutting at odd angles as he pressed the device heavily against his hand. A little worried you eyed the black box in his digits, his claws scratching along the surface as the seconds ticked on and the device let out a happy chime as a green light flashed from the side of the box. The Lich released his grip and flipped the machine over as Beck tried to reach for it, curiously the monster read the display as you spoke up with the technician hovering over the Lich's arm.

“Well, what does it say?”

“Eight hundred forty seven,” he murmured, his speech causing Beck to flinch as the scientist handed the machine over. While the man studied it his eyes widened, seeming in shock.

“w-what d-did he s-say..?” Alphys asked beside you.

Turning to her you spoke, “eight hundred and forty seven..?”

She instantly looked stunned, you blinked at her as you asked, “is that.. good?”

Beck looked up to you, not believing the machine as he explained, “the average adult human male on average is one hundred and thirty.”

Blinking you looked up to Gaster who seemed thoroughly bored as Alphys went on, “t-the human s-skull c-can only w-withstand five h-hundred and thirty p-pounds of p-pressure be-before being c-crushed.”

To think this monster had you in his arms and had that much self control was astounding yet comforting, he must truly care to watch himself. Becoming oddly excited you grinned up to the Lich who eyed you while Beck jotted down some notes on his clipboard on the exam table before handing the device back to the scientist who held it idly in his hand, the fresh scratch marks shimmering across the surface.

“Now I just need to identify the type of jaws you have and your bite strength..”

“He's an omnivore-”

Beck gave you an odd look over his shoulder as you smiled sheepishly, “he eats both meat and plant material.”

“I still have to check..” he stated.

You glanced up to the scientist curiously and missed how Beck's gaze lingered on your neck before turning to the exam table to rifle through his equipment, “if you would, Doctor..?”

Nervously you watched as the man pulled out a pair of gloves from the box while the Lich seemed to be moving his tongue around in his mouth before Beck looked over to him, it took a moment for Gaster to lean over the human and forced him to back up as he slowly bared his fangs and opened his maw. Strings of black spit coated and connected his sharp fangs as a hot burst of breath tore from his throat and pushed the man back another step, seeing the profile view of just how wide he could open his mouth sent butterflies in your stomach as the Lich glanced over to you.

Alphys was even more timid as she shied her gaze away while the man hovered his hand before the impressive maw of the Lich who watched him, suppressing a purr. All it would take is a touch.. his rallied magic imbued in his saliva and scalding hot fangs. Much to the disappointment of the Lich the man didn't actually stick his hand inside as originally planned, a bad feeling had crawled into his spine as he simply nodded his head and averted his gaze to jot something down on the clipboard, “g-go ahead and bite down on the device, same as last time just wait for the beep.”

Without hesitating the scientist stood up straight and stuck the device in his mouth, his canines grinding into the box as his jaws tensed and pressed together. You all heard it, a soft groaning of metal. It made Beck pause and slowly look up to the Lich who met his wary expression while his upper lip drew into a rather sly snarl, black drool slipping along the device and hissed against the cold material rapidly heating up in his impressive jaws.

As the device let out a beep the scientist dropped his expression and took the box from his mouth, turning the slime covered device to face him as his spit stung and dug into his hand. You blinked up to him as he met your gaze and murmured, “two thousand five hundred seventy nine.”

You repeated this to Alphys and she didn't seem to hear you right as the scientist handed the device to Beck, a light tug at his mouth threatening to break his stoic outer appearance as the man hot potatoed the heavy box until he just set it down onto the exam table to read the display. Gaster was too busy observing the man writing something down while sweat built up on the back of his neck, after he got done writing he quickly pulled off his gloves and tossed them though the Lich knew his spit had burned his hands. Perhaps next time he wont try to touch things that weren't his though Gaster would have preferred to just bite the hand clean off.

“T-that.. th-that c-can't be right..” she murmured, glancing at your neck as you shyly averted your gaze.

“Is that a lot for bite strength..?”

Beck spoke up as he chose to take the long way around the exam table to the counter to wash his hands, “a Hyena has a bite of just over a thousand psi. The strongest bone in the human body, the femur, needs just around seventeen hundred psi to cleanly break it,” the burning against his skin had become unbearable on his left hand. Gaster simply flicked his gaze over his shoulder to watch, highly amused.

The man gave up trying to wash the sensation from his hand and just let the cold water rush over it though it didn't seem to help as he went on, “the crocodile has the strongest bite of just over two thousand psi though they can't open their mouths if there is resistance..”

Suspiciously you stepped up to the exam table, watching the steam radiate from the box as the scientist's black spit clung to it. The substance seemed thicker than usual and you glanced up to the Lich, narrowing your eyes as you found him fixated on the man again. You turned your gaze to Beck, watching as he was letting the water run over his hand and looked up to Gaster as you curiously stretched your hand out to the box. Just as your fingers were hovering over the smoldering device he took his hand from his pocket and lightly pressed his fingertips into your wrist, pushing your hand away as his eyes locked onto you.

“My dear, don't touch what is not yours.”

You scrunched your brow at him, instantly understanding his double meaning as you silently gasped with an unbelievable smirk while Alphys spoke up behind you, “y-you o-okay?”

“Y-yeah, heh..” Beck spoke, turning off the water and dried his hands but the rough texture of the rag only flared the burned sensation against his fingertips and palm, “we do have one problem though..”

Clearing your facial expression quickly you stood by the scientist, enjoying his body heat as Beck traveled around the exam table and finished packing up his things as he spoke without looking to the monster, “n-none of Doctor Gaster's attributes or abilities match with anything on our records besides the fact that his summoned apparitions are skeletal there is nothing tying him to a specific category.”

“What does that mean, then..?”

Sighing he straightened up, gathered his nerve and turned to face the both of you as he held his hand idly, “the only place he fits is in an undead category.. but..”

Alphys nervously adjusted her glasses as the room stared at him before he finally just spat out the words, “he doesn't fit the description of a ghoul, of a wraith, of anything undead because of how.. flesh-like he is.”

You shrugged, “just say he's 'unknown' or 'classified'.”

“I can't.. I can't do that,” the man straightened up, looking directly at you as he stepped forward, “as his translator you must know more than anyone something that could help us classify his specific monster type.”

You shook your head but he pressed further as he took another step and stayed there, the scientist slowly drawing his hands behind his back as Beck continued, “I know it sounds kind of nerdy but there was this book series I read as a kid.. and it had this necromancer character-” you knew right where this was going, “-who turned himself into a.. Lich.”

The word seemed to strike the man oddly, his brows furrowing as if tasting the word and looked up. You could see the gears turning in his head as you stepped forward and lightly laughed, “that's nonsense. There is no phylactery, he has no powers to control hordes of the undead.. that's just absurd.”

“So you know about their mythology too..?”

Cringing internally you forced a smile, “just label him as the boogeyman if you insist on writing something down..”

“The.. the boogeyman..?” he scrunched his brow as you chuckled, Alphys merely watching the interaction as sweat built up on her neck.

“If we're going on theory..” you hummed but the man just smiled and met your eyes as he folded his arms.

“Going on theory I'd say you were bitten by this monster-” blinking wildly you felt your heart beat pick up, the Lich behind you beginning to narrow his eyes ever so slightly, “-I could order a full investigation and physical of you but from where I'm standing..” he gently leaned side to side, peering at your neck as you hesitantly set your hands on your hips trying to remain resolute at this heavy character change, “looks to me as if it's a perfect match. A tissue sample would confirm it-”

The scientist widened his stance as he eyed the man in front of you. His towering presence seethed and infested the small room, the look on his face said it all.. If this man was going to hound you, he'd also have to hound the Lich. As Gaster spoke his magic twisted into his words, causing the air to thicken with a pressure as he articulated.

“Classify me as a Undecided. You will then leave my facility and if I find that you ordered any kind of information, medical or otherwise, from her I will personally see to it there will be repercussions for such unprofessional badgering.. that is if I so happen to control myself long enough to not shove my fist far enough down your scrawny throat to rip your heart out.”

The long winded response startled Alphys and Beck though your confident expression wavered at the end of his demands, slowly you repeated what he said but left out the last part to which he wasn't very happy about as the marks on your skin began to itch wildly.

Oddly Beck was only silent for a moment as he stared up to the Lich like a rabbit staring into the eyes of a hungry fox before regaining himself and cleared his throat, “she should still be examined-”

“My dear..” the Lich hummed, drawing your attention as you looked up to him, “would you kindly escort Doctor Alphys to my office..?” the scientist slowly drew his hands from his back, touching his fingertips together before his abdomen with his thumbs pointing to the ceiling, “It seems as if we need to have a.. _discussion._ ”

Quickly you pressed the words into your mind as you stared up at him, his expression much too relaxed for your likes as you remembered the last time he behaved this way.. whenever he was plotting something, _'G, they won't do anything to me just relax..'_

“Oh.. my darling, of course they wont,” he purred, his magic lacing outward from his body and caused Beck to step back warily as he spoke.

“What is he saying..?”

Turning back to the man you gently tried to smile, “you should leave-”

Just when you thought it couldn't get more tense Alphys jumped as the door opened and Carl held the door wide open as he glared across the scene unfolding before him, to an untrained eye it would look like an awkward interaction but the heavy unease settling within the man was drawing a red flag, “hey, you almost finished in here..?”

Beck sighed, picking up the clipboard off of the exam table as he spoke up, “we have a slight problem..”

The detective seemingly understood immediately, looking to Alphys and motioned her over as he spoke, “Doctor.. I feel your technicians need your assistance.”

The woman awkwardly glanced to you and Gaster but you just gave her a gentle nod. Alphys blinked before waddling over to the door and slipped outside as Carl closed the door behind her and stood with his arms folded across his chest. Beck gently began to speak again, drawing your attention, “think of it this way.. those rumors would get expelled by you just cooperating with us.”

Lightly laughing you said rather bluntly, “no.”

The Lich agreed with you, he had a feeling these men specifically wanted a simple of his magic just for this very reason. His white eyes flicking across the two men in the room as Beck brought up his hand and rubbed the back of his neck while he looked over his clipboard. The room was quiet for a moment before the man exhaled and began to finish filling out the paperwork in his hand as Carl spoke up from the door, “got something to hide?”

“Got something to try to prove?” you retorted, you could tell Gaster was becoming highly agitated as your markings were flaring though he remained calm on the outside.

“It would put these rumors to rest and possibly stop all these attacks against undead monster types-” your eyes widened as you focused in on Mr. Briggs while Beck set down the clipboard and rummaged around in his equipment, seeming to favor his right burned hand as he dug around with his left, “-the public are scared, this would kill two birds with one stone by supplying an official report with solid evidence.”

Gaster eyed Beck as he tore open a bag and shook a small tool into his hand before turning around to face you though you were still focused on the opposite side of the room to Carl as you worded carefully, “it's the internet, people are going to still believe whatever they want-” Beck took a step forward but then stopped, his eyes meeting the slowly glaring expression of the Lich as you continued, “you can't seriously be telling me monsters are being hurt because of me.”

“It's what our reports are showing. So-” the man cleared his throat, trying to gain the Lich's attention but it didn't work as he projected his voice, “if you would come with me Doctor-”

“Hold on-” you nervously grinned, your skin crawling as Beck held the small tool idly behind you, “I never agreed to anything.”

“By order of the King we can conduct our business as needed, your cooperation would help stop these attacks. I don't understand why you are being so difficult about this miss-”

“No,” you scoffed, an anxious grin still tugging at your lips. How unbelievably pushy, you tried to stay confident but found yourself shying closer to the Lich who began to hover over you with his eyes still attached onto Beck as the man spoke gently.

“There's no reason to be nervous, it's just a simple scrape you will hardly feel a thing-”

“We are done here-” you whipped around to look at Beck, startled by how he was already holding the tool for the test and backed up against the Lich who began to growl deep within his body as you were pressed flush against his abdomen. His deep, rolling reverberations filled the room though Beck remained where he was.

“This is crucial to our case, if you don't agree someone could get killed from the rampant fear of any monster perceived to be 'undead'.”

Swallowing dryly you tried to breath slowly, your eyes flicking over to Beck as he gently smiled to you, “it's quick, I promise.”

Guilt began to eat at you.. Had Undyne and Asriel gotten used to the attacks because people were afraid of Papyrus? She had said they often feel those jammers and you could see how people would take off and run with their fear.. how stupid of you to open your mouth at that political meeting, you should have never even said anything about his monster type but it's not like you could take it back now.

The scientist could sense your thoughts and heavily snorted, his lab coat draping on either side of you as he loomed forward towards Beck and spat, “touch her and I will render you to that of a corpse yourself.”

A shiver ran through your spine, biting into the side of your cheek as Carl sighed in heavy aggravation. He didn't need to know the translation as everything the monster had said was blunt and negative, turning to the door the man opened it up and muttered bitterly, “forget it, let's get out of here.”

“But-” the door slammed loudly, jarring you and only added fuel to the scientist's anger no longer able to contain himself as he stepped around you to advance rapidly on the man who stammered as he backed up against the wall at the approaching, livid monster, “A-all right.. all right..” he sighed as Gaster stood merely a few feet away, his bright eyes training onto the terrified male before him pressed against the wall, “-you can go.”

The Lich stared down at this male, the fact that he was so pushy to lay his hands on you made his teeth itch. A deep seeded fire building in his muscles as his magic churned and rolled within his chest, the scientist began to open his jaws to take in this male's scent as he felt you grip onto the back of his coat as you spoke, “c'mon, let's get out of here..”

It was as if he wasn't listening to you as you waited for a response but was given none. Lightly sighing you let go of his coat and went to the door to open it up though the Lich remained where he was. An inner battle was tearing at him to be at your back or get his final say with this sniveling human with that tool still held in his shaky hand. Beck tried to gently step to the side as the monster stared him down, his jaws slowly beginning to part further as he drew in a deep breath while his eyes dilated. Fear, sweat and the general natural scent of this human coated the top of his palate which only drove hot iron into his soul feeding his ferality.

You knew Gaster was fixated but at the same time didn't care if he scared this man, a bit pissed off yourself you glanced to the scene as Beck passed you a look that screamed  _'please help'_ but you just blinked at him and left the room. The door slowly closed behind you as you walked towards the Lich's office, feeling like a drink after such stressful interactions. What was wrong with people today? It troubled you to know that some doctors could be so pushy with their patients, if it wasn't for Gaster they probably would have gotten what they wanted from you.. the thought was unsettling.

The door softly clicked shut just at the Lich snatched up the human by the front of his shirt and pulled him upwards, the man having to stand on his tip toes as panic began to set in from the intense glare the Lich was giving to him as he leaned down close.

The scientist's breath was hot against the mans sweating face as he channeled his magic into this human and muttered, “now.. about that discussion..”

 

As you pushed into the Lich's office you sighed heavily as you watched the floor but as you stepped inside and looked up you froze, then became actually angry yourself as you found Mr. Briggs studying the machine.

Unable to help yourself you brisked up to the desk as you growled, “there a reason you're snooping around in here..?”

Your foot steps were heavy on the hard floor as you passed behind him. He turned to watch you spin, set your hands on the desk and pull yourself up onto it while you crossed your legs as Carl cleared his throat and spoke to you, “is it usual for Doctor Gaster to be so.. aggressive..?”

You completely ignored his gaze, plucking your phone from the wood to better reveal the trench marks in the desk as you unlocked the device and snorted, “you should leave.”

“All right, missy..” the man growled as he took a step towards you though you continued to ignore him and began texting Jenny idly, “the reason why this is so important is because we have a missing persons case involving a monster-” your fingers slowed at you glanced up to him, “it's not public as it just happened a few days ago but we have no leads, if you would have simply cooperated we could silence these rumors about not only Doctor Gaster and yourself but undead type monsters as well.”

You remained silent as the man came up to the desk, staring at the destroyed surface as he continued, “while I have my own reservations and opinions about your.. ' _relationship'_ with the Doctor, innocent monsters don't deserve to be hurt.”

“I agree,” you huffed, turning back to your text which clearly irritated the detective as he bluntly stated.

“I am concerned for your safety,” your eyes narrowed as you began shit talking this man over text to your friend as he went on, “I've seen many abuse cases in my line of work and from what I've seen you don't have a healthy relationship-”

“My relationship, regardless of what you may _think_ it is-” you snorted, your fingers tensing around the device as you sent the message and glared up at the man, “is none of your damn business.”

 

Gaster watched with gentle amusement as Beck scrambled out of the room without his equipment. Apparently by just merely showing the human his jaws while speaking scared him enough to send the man into shock, with a deep huff through his closing jaws the scientist took pause as the door closed softly leaving him alone in the exam room. What cowardice. The Lich turned his attention behind him and plucked the abandoned clip board off of the exam table, tilting his chin up as he read the contents of the paperwork. Most of it was just general appearance and subtle description with his monster type being labeled as “Unknown”. A light smirk tugged at the monsters mouth as he read the footnotes and found,  _'highly aggressive/possessive. lacks emotion. Abusive?'_ scrawled along the lines. 

How professional. The Lich tossed the clipboard back onto the table unceremoniously as he peered into the box, flicking his eyes across the contents until he found the vial filled with his black magic. He brought his hand down into the box, taking the vial to deposit it into his lab coat and then summoned a hand to rummage through the orange needle disposal box until he found the one used on him. The bony apparition gripped to it tightly before vanishing as the scientist turned and stepped toward the door, a new summoned hand appearing to open the door for him as he stepped into the hall and glanced down it to the lobby. Luckily most of his technicians were through this massive waste of time, only a few remained waiting and they all gave him a nervous glance before looking away.

A heavy snort pressed through his lungs, his magic was nearly throbbing in his chest with anger and frustration as he turned his attention back towards his office and stepped to the doors though his jaws began to clench as he heard a familiar voice inside.

Now he was pissed off.

 

Both of the doors to the office swung open to the hard shove of two summoned hands, slamming the metal into the wall as the Lich strode inside and immediately fixated on the detective. Humans were obnoxious, pushy, weak and fragile though this one didn't seem to easily understand the true danger he was in as the scientist made his way over to the desk with the sound of the closing metal doors drenching the room before they clicked shut.

Carl glanced over his shoulder at the approaching Lich as he fuddled around in his pocket and slipped a thin card on the desk beside you, turning to meet your gaze and murmured, “if you ever feel like you're in danger, just call me.”

Slowly you picked up the card just as the scientist came up to the desk, hovering over the both of you as his sockets twitched. You grinned, pulling the card up in front of you and pinched the paper as you kept your eyes trained onto the detective before starting to tear up the card into tiny bits while he gave you a truly indescribable expression.

“Hey look..” you spoke, turning the card into many tiny little pieces that you held in your hand before blowing a hard puff of air across your palm scattering the white particles all over as you dead panned, “it's ass-fetti, it goes off after every five asshole people I get to endure throughout my day. Congratulations number five.”

The Lich blinked oddly, a bit shaken from his rage as he watched the paper flutter in the air down onto the detective and all over his floor as the man turned red in the face and turned abruptly to storm out of the room. You both watched him go though you had a big smile on your face as the door shut loudly behind him.

You both sat there in silence for a moment, getting a refreshing breather from your annoying day so far though the Lich did eventually murmur, “I count only four.”

Beaming you watched as he turned his attention back to you while you brought a hand up and pointed at him, “you forgot one.”

 

As the detective strode to the exam room to get his partner he tried to settle his anger, this girl was obviously not in a good place as the scientist was clearly possessive to a dangerous level. It was a good thing they collected some of this monsters magic, she may not have agreed today but she possibly could in a few days if he could catch her by herself.

Pulling the door open he found the room abandoned and sighed with aggravation as he went in to collect Beck's things, he threw the clipboard into the box and shut it as he grabbed the handle and left the room without turning the lights off. He was none the wiser about the missing samples, too engrossed in his own thoughts as he made his way to the lobby.

It had been worth a shot to try gathering evidence, that's all he could say about it at the end of the day. Though he did mull her name around in his mind as he rode the elevator up to the first level from beneath the surface, even though that display was beyond childish and rude he settled his stomach by deciding he'd check in with the girl in a few days just in case. Even if she refused the test again he felt uneasy leaving such a young woman in the hands of such a powerful, possessive creature.

He'd never seen a monster quite like the scientist, he seemed.. unnatural.

 


	14. Frustration Runs Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You help around the lab and make a new friend though the Lich's aggravation is getting hard to control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out when I'm done with it I promise! :0  
> I'm already about 6 pages into it and I know exactly what's going to happen I just need to type it up and polish it. Sorry for this broken up bomb guys I'm husstlin'!
> 
> Also ya'll are gonna want this later in the chapter:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxKNP7Szut8

Alphys sighed as she checked over her patient's charts, noticing a few were starting to drop again. Having her technicians preoccupied for about an hour wasn't an entirely terrible experience, these monsters were slipping regardless of what they tried and she didn't want to cause a fuss with the detectives. Most days were slow anyways as everyone went about their duties and while her staff went about their classification typing her assistant, Claire, was perfect to have by her side. The white stoat in red framed glasses was swift in her actions and could slip in and out of rooms with ease, checking stats and issuing alternative medicines to help the fallen last as long as possible while Doctor WD Gaster worked on the serum.

Apparently Claire had worked in New Home as a practitioner and was very confident in not only her ability to help the injured but she was very gentle, her rounded cheeks always made it look like she had a permanent, nurturing smile on her face as she would glide around the corridors checking on the smaller teams broken up to better monitor the monsters in their care with the more experienced technicians handling higher risk patients.

While Alphys gently padded out of a room, walking towards her next patient, the sound of scrambling on the hard floor pulled her attention up to see Claire rushing up to her. Her eyes were wide with her whiskers flicking as she spoke with a creamy voice, “ma'am we have another problem in ward four, I have three patients going gray-”

Blinking Alphys spoke up as she hurried down the hall, her lab coat whipping at her sides as she stammered, “g-get D-doctor Gaster-”

“But ma'am-” she tried, their claws clicking on the floor as they rushed down the corridor.

“H-he wo-won't want t-to come b-but we n-need to try.. th-there a-aren't e-enough experienced doctors i-in the l-lab today.”

Claire couldn't help but to imagine that massive monster glaring down to her.. the thought made her pelt shudder but she had no choice, she nodded to Alphys before ducking down around a corner to head for the lobby and as she passed through it her eyes focused on the final round of technicians leaving their exam rooms. She tossed silken commands to them as she passed, the monsters then turning to head back to work just as swiftly as she ran up to the double metal doors and paused.

Her heart was racing in her throat while her chest heaved, her clawed paws hovering over the metal as her round small ears shivered at the gentle, womanly voice on the other side of the door. She had her own opinions of the relationship the human had with the scientist, it merely wasn't her place but she felt there was a connection there between the two. If this human wasn't scared of such an intimidating monster.. then she could surely open these doors.

A few seconds ticked by, her fingers flexing and relaxing as if wanting to push at the doors but she just couldn't bring herself to.

Sighing, aggravated with herself, she rubbed her cheek with a paw as she adjusted her glasses with the other and murmured, “c'mon Claire.. if you could do a successful amputation in New Home you can surely do this..”

She took in a deep breath, her supple chest rising as she pressed her palms into the door and pushed as she exhaled and scampered inside.

 

As the door opened a flash of white grabbed your attention, blinking wildly you looked up from your cellphone from your place on the Lich's desk to spot that familiar technician standing in front of the double doors. Gaster slowly turned to peer down to the woman from the machine, a glass of scotch in his hand. Her chest was huffing rather quickly as she clasped her hands together and spoke, her words flowing together in a sing song fashion, “I apologize for my interruption but ward four is declining rapidly-”

The Lich turned his gaze back to the machine, hardy listening while you set your phone down on the desk beside you and met her gaze as she went on, “-we are short handed and need your assistance..”

You turned to the scientist who opted to just take a slow drink instead of responding, you scrunched your brow as the stoat wrung her hands together in the awkward silence. Just as Claire was about to open her mouth you jumped down from the desk, your shoes patting on the hard surface below and shifted around all the little white confetti as you stepped up to the woman and spoke over your shoulder, “c'mon G-”

He merely snorted, lowering his glass as he muttered, “my dear, they are dead.”

Stopping in your tracks just before the woman your heart thudded hard in your chest, turning to look over your shoulder as your brow scrunched into a glare while the technician beside you averted her gaze at the growing tension in the room while you spoke, “you aren't even going to try..?”

He remained silent, going back to his work as he summoned a pair of hands to start making gestures and led the machine to a new process which began to draw the blobby, bubbling concoctions into a heart-like shape which was white with bright blue rimming the warbling edges. You knew he was emotionless with these types of situations but you weren't. You wouldn't sit back and not even try.

Scoffing you turned to stoat who blinked inquisitively at you as you spoke to her instead, “I'll come help-.. uh-”

“Claire-” she smiled with a soft exhale, “Thank you, ma'am-” she lightly bowed her head before making her way to the door. You hurried on after her, noticing how nimble and lithe her movements were. She was so graceful as she pulled the door open and ducked out into the hall with you right on her heels.

As the door closed behind you the Lich listened to you running down the corridor as he knocked back the rest of his scotch, the alcohol burning his throat as he exhaled and handed the empty glass to a bony hand for his apparitions to refill it for him. This haze gracing his mind was better than the scalding fire licking at his brain and soul, some silence to himself would surely ease this sensation raging within him. He knew you would be fine with this woman plus it may give you something to do besides trying to talk to him as he cooled off.

 

While you ran down the corridor you found it a bit difficult to keep up with the stoat, she effortlessly rounded corners while you had to stumble and slide to be able to keep up. She led you towards a busy hallway filled with voices and bustling around before she darted into a room which you threw yourself into just behind her to find Alphys sweaty and yet focused as she looked up to find you with Claire.

“T-thank you, S-sun-” she stammered as you rounded the bed and looked down to take in the pained expression of a forest elemental, this creature reminded you of fantasy stories about sprites and nymphs as her facial features were so gentle against her greenish skin.

You were a little stunned, taking in this monsters appearance as Claire rounded the bed and began speaking to Alphys. Snapping out of it you pulled your attention up and to the woman at your side as she had you turn to stride across the room and rummaged through the cabinet for the right medicine. The first few minutes you were nervous about screwing up but found monster biology quite easy as it seems they were working with base compounds of magic that related to emotions like compassion.

While the two doctors worked you felt as if you were making a difference but as the minutes ticked on you noticed the monster give a shudder before a loud cracking rang out through the room and before your very eyes this beautiful creature was rendered to dust.

“Shit-” Claire muttered with a heavy breath as the glitterly sand like material settled across the bed. She blinked rapidly while Alphys stuck her hand up beneath her glasses and rubbed at her face before claiming the time of death which the stoat hurriedly scrawled on a clipboard set on the bedside table.

You were in a bit of shock, processing what you had just seen yet it wouldn't register in your brain even as you followed the two into the hall with Claire breaking from you to assist some other technicians across the hall while you followed Alphys a few rooms down.

This process kept repeating itself, you had shaken your initial shock with the true realization of what was at stake. If you just moved faster, if you interacted with more technicians, if you stepped with more confidence perhaps you would stop seeing the dust roll across the sheets..

By the time two more hours had passed your body felt sore, your mind numb and your heart ached as the drama of the day wound down. You had witnessed four monsters die and recognized that awful shattering noise echoing through the hall on a few different occasions. Every monster that had a gray soul in this ward had died, not one of them were saved and you weren't even sure if you had delayed the process.

After another half hour of shuffling and straightening up with Alphys, collecting paperwork and proceeded to her office you sat down in a chair on the far side of the room and sighed as your face fell into your palms. These stakes were heavier than you realized.. Gaster hadn't helped because he knew they wouldn't make it and he wasn't bothered by this fact what-so-ever.

While he had been so blunt and unfeeling when he described the deaths to you prior the acknowledgment that his treatment could possibly kill more monsters made you feel highly uneasy. Sure he had been in war, he had killed and seen death in ways you probably couldn't comprehend but at what point did he lose his sense in right or wrong.. the ethics of a doctor to never give up on a patient, to strive to save _everyone_.. or had he simply always been this way?

You knew he wasn't a very emotional monster yet the shock of it all was hard to process, hard to swallow.

You could hear Alphys shuffling around as you held your face in your hands, calming yourself and trying to relax. She placed her hand on your shoulder kindly, murmuring, “t-thank you for helping t-today.. you w-were a great..”

Slightly shaking your head you muttered, “they all died.. I've never seen anyone die before.. ”

The woman nodded solemnly, keeping her hand on your shoulder as she let silence wash over the both of you for a few moments before you sighed and brought your attention up to her. You hadn't known these people yet you still felt such sadness, this was all the fault of humanity.. the Lich's words ringing in your head from earlier.

_'I owe Humanity nothing.'_

You supposed Gaster did care about his people.. just not in a traditional sense. She read your expression and smiled gently, “m-monsters h-have never been able t-to wake u-up after they f-fall.. we give t-them all we can.. and that's a-all we can do.”

“Like terminal illness..?” you murmured, swallowing dryly as you sat up straight and she removed her hand as she nodded.

“W-we make s-sure they're a-as comfortable as possible.. i-if we c-can manage to b-bring them back then i-it will be the first t-time in history..”

“Do you think G can do it..?” you asked.

Alphys thought for a moment, her eyes flicking over your expression before she gently adjusted her glasses and nodded, “he is d-dedicated.. I l-like to believe we can s-save e-everyone we can.”

Just as you were about to speak up the door opened to her office, Claire poking her head in to blink at the both of you and gathered your attention before speaking, “I can make the calls tonight, Doctor Alphys.. I am just helping with preparations.”

“I-i c-could do a f-few now..”

The stoat smiled warmly as she nodded and ducked back out into the hallway as you looked to Alphys and spoke, “you want some help..?”

“o-oh. Y-you d-don't have to.. b-but I'm sure they'd a-appreciate it c-coming from you-” she noticed the curious look you gave her and smiled a bit sheepishly, “D-doctor Gaster d-doesn't even sign our s-sincerity cards to the f-families..”

“Ah,” you murmured, of course he didn't.

 

You made the calls with Alphys, unsure of yourself but as you went through the calls the recipients didn't even seem all that bothered and just thanked you for your efforts before they hung up. This was.. strange to you. It didn't take too long to get through everyone and by the time Alphys finished the last call it was merely only three in the afternoon, sighing you rubbed your face with both hands. It felt like it should have been eight o'clock by now.

Claire slipped into the room as you were kneading your face while Alphys filed away the documents of these deceased patients. The stoat kindly stepped over as she spoke up, “are you all right, hun..?”

Sighing you dropped your hands and looked into her big black eyes, she had rather thick eyelashes behind those red framed glasses and you couldn't help but to meet her gaze with your own pained smile as you nodded, “I don't know how you guys do it.”

She giggled, a light hearted sound which only made your expression soften as she replied, “one day at a time, these monsters are under the best care technology can give them. We just try to make them as comfortable as we can.”

You knew they were in good hands though you still felt utterly helpless to this situation, it was really just.. terribly sad. Though the acceptance of their fate began to trickle down on you, it was as if they were trying to cure terminally ill cancer patients. Most of the staff here merely treated and helped ease the passing while Gaster and Alphys were trying to cure it outright, the odds were highly stacked against them.

Alphys shook you from your thoughts as she came up to the two of you and held her hands at her abdomen while speaking quietly, “w-we aren't too far off f-from f-finishing the new m-medicine..”

Nodding you relaxed, if anyone could work a miracle it would be the Lich, “G knows what he's doing..”

The stoat blinked a few times, gently clearing her throat as she set her small hands in her coat pockets, “I know it's not my business..-” you cringed internally, knowing where this was going as you kept a forced smile, “-but what's he like..?”

That took you off guard as you blinked at her while she sheepishly smiled and leaned on one hip as she kindly continued, “nobody ever really.. sees him. That's the first time I've ever heard him talk in the few months I've been here and it was.. so strange.”

You relaxed a bit further, your tight muscles unwinding as you listened curiously to the woman as Alphys gently smiled in understanding while the weasel went on, “I see why my colleagues are scared of him.. usually monsters are so friendly and kind hearted where as he is.. guarded. It's honestly very interesting, I've never met someone like the Doctor before..”

You agreed with her there.. he certainly was something different, he stood out to you since the first time you inadvertently interacted with his magic and while he could have scared anyone else half to death or running for the hills you found companionship in his stoic nature.

This was the first positive conversation you've ever had about your connection to the Lich, lightly laughing you replied, “G is an asshole-” she blinked rapidly, her grin deepening shyly as you went on, “but I believe he can do great things.. he's just rather to himself, he doesn't show emotion.”

“Is that because of.. you know?” she asked timidly, referring to his damaged face. Alphys shaking her head as she spoke up and drew your attention.

“N-no. H-he just doesn't.. f-feel emotion.”

“Unless it's like frustration or annoyance,” you chimed with a light laugh which Alphys cracked a deeper grin towards as you went on, “which is like twenty percent of the time.”

Both women jumped, their eyes shooting up behind you as a dark voice murmured against your back, “my dear, it is more so five point eight percent.”

Snickering you turned around, placing your hands on your hips as you gazed up at him while the stoat's tail twitched uncomfortably behind her as you quipped, “you are such a liar.”

He merely gave you a blank expression though your markings began to tingle as you lightly laughed and turned to look at the two woman who looked equally unsettled by this massive monster's sudden entrance. Alphys timidly spoke up, drawing the Lich's white gaze towards her as she murmured, “w-we l-lost h-half o-of ward four today..”

The Lich kept his eyes on her while the stoat nervously adjusted her glasses and cast her gaze away, unsure of even looking too long at the scientist who processed the information.

“Pity,” he muttered, it would be awhile yet for the serum to be balanced as monsters were so sensitive to soul treatments.

“I-i h-had an idea..” Alphys murmured, swallowing as she raised her voice to be heard a bit better while you turned to face her fully curiously, “w-what if we t-try suspension..”

Gaster's gaze remained focused with his hands tucked behind his back as she continued, “I c-could m-make a-another vat a-and-”

Her voice dropped off as she watched the scientist barely shake his head side to side, you noticed how she was cut off and looked back up at Gaster while Claire carefully looked up to the Lich as well as you asked, “why wouldn't that work..?”

He drew a deep exhale from his lungs, you could always get him to talk. His breath carried the smoky flavor of scotch as he murmured, “monster souls are not strong enough to stay suspended from their bodies for long, perhaps a boss monster soul could withstand such high demand but the treatment would merely be a convoluted assisted suicide.”

“You mean homicide?”

He shook his head once more, meeting your gaze as he stated flatly, “euthanasia is not murder.. it is a service, a mercy.”

Blinking wildly his words settled on you and turned your lips downward, he observed your reaction as you absorbed this. His thought process really did lack a sense of.. morality.

Alphys nervously spoke against the odd silence, guessing at what the Lich had said as she also knew how he thought, “i-it's okay, Sun. W-what we a-are doing now i-is helping g-greatly.”

Claire smiled sweetly as she added in, “this is a sad situation, hun.. but we can overcome it by persistence. I have faith in our team.”

Sighing you turned to the stoat, her smiling broad face was infectious as you also cracked a light smile and nodded. That is when you felt the Lich's lanky digits slip around your rib cage, his fingertips pressing just above your stomach as you looked over your shoulder and found him flicking his gaze between the two women before he pulled you through the void with him.

 

Landing back in your flat you blinked, squinting in confusion as the scientist came up to your back and brought his free hand up to your neck to lightly brush your hair from your markings. His claws lightly tickling your skin as you sighed and glanced up behind you, “at least warn me or something.. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Alphys or Claire.”

He was silent as you gently pulled away from him and he allowed it, his lanky digits caressing across your ribs as you trudged to the couch and fell face first into the cushions with an annoyed groan. Your one leg dangled off the side onto the floor as you pushed the groan into a loud, over dramatic sound of exasperation.

 _“Why is today sucking so much?”_ you strained.

You could hear the monster lightly stepping around as you sighed, “and I was thinking today would be slow and relaxing..”

The furniture shifted beneath you as the Lich crawled up above you, barely being able to fit on the narrow seat as he draped up along your back and nestled down on top of you with his knuckled digits lacing with your hands. He pressed his weight slowly to you, a reverberating purr leaving his chest to press into your back as he kept himself slightly up on his elbows while holding your hands.

You found the affection severely odd at first before his heavily alcoholic breath brushed over the back of your neck, a tight bulge pressing up against your rump as he settled down and got comfortable.

“G.. are you drunk?”

“No, unfortunately.”

A slight smirk tugged at your lips as you turned to rest your head to the side, looking at him from the corner of your eyes to meet his sleepy expression, “wanna get food or somethin'?”

He merely blinked lazily down at you while he drew your arms up under your chest as he crossed them, holding you against his chest as he rolled his hips down against you tenderly as a pant left his jaws. Shivering you wriggled in his grasp but he kept his grip on you rather firm, forcing a gentle laugh to leave your lungs.

“Is this really why you came and got me..? You gotta buy me food first-”

A gentle chuckle rumbled in his chest as he murmured, dipping his face down towards you, “I don't have to do anything.. you are _mine._ ”

Blinking you didn't have time to respond as he nuzzled against your neck, breathing in your scent heavily as he rocked his hips forward again with a tad more force that drew a shaky pant from your lips as he ground his pulsing shaft against your ass through his slacks.

“Christ G..” you murmured, shivering heavily as the tip of his hot tongue probed at the base of your neck, “what has you so hot and bothered lately..?”

He hummed softly, this was a question he had been asking himself lately as well though it wasn't entirely clicking with him. Just as he was beginning to taste up your neck in a slow lick you heard your phone's ringtone going off, a heavy snort beating through the Lich's jaws as you laughed and wriggled in his arms but he remained firm. Blinking you raised your head and looked over your shoulder to find his coat draped over the counter.

You squeaked as the monster dipped his forehead to yours, pressing your head back down as he gently shushed you while he ground his hips along your ass even as you struggled and laughed, “G, seriously that could be important-”

He responded with a light pant, his eyes focusing onto you as he drove his hips forward and pulled you downward while you squirmed beneath him. Shuddering you focused to summon a hand and peered over to try to see what you were doing as you commanded the apparition to rummage through his coat pockets until you found your phone's bright screen lighting up within the dark fabric. Smirking you plucked it out of the coat right as he leaned down towards your face, he was too large to be able to get at your neck so he instead lolled his tongue from his mouth and pressed it against your cheek. You squealed and laughed as you twisted around in his grasp as he lapped up your soft skin, a sticky hot residue staying behind as you nearly dropped your phone on the ground from spazzing the summoned hand around.

“G- stop-!” you snorted, trying to move your face away as he growled playfully, wedging his hips against yours as he slathered his tongue across your skin with the scent of scotch filling your nostrils. You tried to remained focused in an attempt to bring your phone over but he was making this difficult per usual, you growled as you fumbled with the phone in the air, “I swear to god-!”

“Be quiet,” he muttered, slightly agitated as his hot breath sparked over your drenched cheek.

Gasping you narrowed your eyes to him, “fuck off, ass hat.”

Your ringtone went dead as the hand brought it over to you and you fumbled with great difficulty to try using the apparition to unlock and check your messages though the bony fingers wouldn't register with your touch screen very well. The Lich growled down at you, his hands tightening around yours as his jaws began to part and while you were distracted he bit at the side of your face with a growl. You gasped and shuddered as his teeth pressed into your soft flesh while his tongue shoved up against your cheek again, black drool spilling down your neck as you squealed and instantly lost connection with his magic with your phone clattering against the floor.

The cellphone played music again, vibrating loudly against the floor while this monster kept you pinned beneath him. He was clearly annoyed by this, his growling becoming deeper to only press into your back as you managed to finally squirm a hand out of his and pushed it off the side of the couch to feel for the device. The Lich snorted heavily as you brought the phone up, his white eyes flicking to the illuminated rectangle but couldn't quite see from this angle. He released your face and brought his head up to get a better look at the screen and was met with an image of Jenny along with her number above it. He expected you to just ignore the call as he leaned back down to you though his advance was blocked as you answered and held the phone to your damp face.

In shock the Lich blinked, his head jerking upwards rather sharply as you spoke into the receiver, “heyy, Jen!”

_'Heeyyyy, hope I'm not bothering you but I just had an idea-'_

Smiling you answered, “nah I'm not busy, go for it.”

Angrily the Lich emitted a deep growl, it tore at his throat as he slowly brought his face back towards you and even began to vibrate the device in your hand as Jenny's voice trailed on, _'we should all go down to Club X, I already asked Undyne about it and she's all for it-!'_

“Yeah that would be fun! When..?” continuing to ignore the Lich's advances you merely trained your eyes across the room as he snorted heavily, a puff of hot air brushing over you.

_'Tonight!- Unless you've got plans or something..?'_

“Yeah that's fine-” you held the phone out from your face as you grunted, disguising it as clearing your throat as the Lich rose from your back and steadied himself on his knees. His hands slipped from your chest to grab at your waist and forced himself between your legs while hiking your ass up against his groin, his throbbing cock grinding right against the heat between your thighs.

Lightly coughing in your throat you spoke up, managing to keep your breath even, “what time..?”

_'I dunno wanna just plan for like.. eight?'_

“Sure-” you grinned, the monster giving a hard thrust forward as his bones trembled in irritation. Quickly you finished up your sentence against the ache in your gut at his rough behavior, propping your self up on your elbows to help ease just how deeply the monster had your spine bent, “-just meet me here and we can all go together, how'd your day with Jake go?”

You let your friend babble on as you swiftly muted the phone and glared over your shoulder at the monster who was equally glaring back at you beneath his drooped eyelids, “G, you are not the first guy to try this.. you will not die from blue balling.”

He began to growl once more, a long and drug out sound that echoed through the room as you caught the last bit of whatever Jenny was saying, _'he just left a few minutes ago, he said something about Dennis needing help with homework but right as he left I'm just like.. I'm hungry.'_

Lightly giggling you tapped the mute button and replied, “oh my god I'm so hungry too right now.. come bring me food-”

Startled, confused and highly agitated he could only stare down at you as his pupils began to dilate, the throbbing within his slacks becoming nearly painful. His senses became clouded as this inner pull took over while Jenny's voice trailed into your ear, _'okay wifey, what do you feel like?'_

“I dunno, somethin'-” you grinned, the monster slowly beginning to lean over the top of you. While the Lich's breath beat against the back of your head you quickly added, “you choose, just hurry or I'll die.”

_'All right, see you in half an hour girlie!'_

You giggled as you reciprocated and hung up the phone just as the Lich pressed at the side of your face, his teeth gnashing into a snarl as he muttered, “why are you denying me?”

Blinking you just began to laugh again, missing how his arm was slinking up around you with his claws twitching as he reached for your neck, “G, you know we fuck all the time right?”

His claws tenderly reached up around your throat, making you swallow dryly as he purred into your ear barely above a whisper, “indeed. It is best to keep up tradition, my dear..”

Looking at him from the corners of your eyes his lanky digits wrapped around your soft neck and applied pressure, you scoffed and murmured, “unless you want Jenny to walk in on us- H-hey!”

You squealed as his free hand instantly went to your pants, unfastening them against your attempts to struggle. He kept your throat held tightly as he ground forward against you in a demanding roll as his knuckled digits began to slip into your open jeans, catching on the fabric and began to drag them down though this sparked a hard beat in your soul as you let out a panicked mewl.

His motions paused and grip loosened at this sound that seemed to strike deeply within his soul, his heavy breathing brushing over the back of your head as you wriggled away. His hand left your neck as you pulled a leg towards yourself to crash on your side and glared up to him, “I was joking you ass!”

Studying his features he merely continued to glare down at you though internally a harsh battle waged, he had never hesitated on taking what he wanted but for some reason his body reacted to an odd sensation in his chest. Normally he'd be curious about such a thing though the heat of his need clouded his ability to think and instead only made him _more_ aggravated.

From your position you could tell he was getting angry, your eyes flicking to the hardened bulge pressing at his slacks and shivered as you began to think that perhaps 'blue balling' was a light way to put it. With a sigh you pressed up to a seated position as he remained crouched over you with his clawed hand twitching in the air as you murmured up at him, “later tonight, all right? I don't really feel like being sore if I'm going to be moving around a lot.”

He wanted to growl at the mere mention of a compromise but the pressure in his throat ebbed as you gently pressed your lips to the side of his face, straight over the crack in his cheek which was rather sharp and rigid. You could feel his socket twitching before you pulled away and looked up at him from under your eye lashes, the monster was struggling to remain in control against his desire and confusion. Your gentle affection wasn't helping him make a decision either.

Smiling you shifted over to face him. You placed your hands on his shoulders, still holding onto your cellphone in one hand, and eased him back onto his knees while peering up at him, “today's been stressful, let's save the best for last.. yeah?”

His socket's twitched as you stared up at him, he still wasn't entirely sure what to do with his hands as this internal fire washed over him in waves. He could have you now, your writhing form would only give him pleasure as it had many times before yet his body was hesitating as it remembered that noise you had made.. like injured prey. While the thought of you ensnared in his grasp was highly arousing this sensation, this pressure, in his chest made his ribs ache and second guess himself when otherwise he would have enjoyed these cries of panic and fear though when they stemmed from your lips they only added confusion to his growing lust.

You didn't give him much time to mull this over as you lightly patted his shoulders and stood to saunter away to get changed, leaving the frustrated monster by himself as he eased back and leaned across the cushions while he slowed his panting. As music began to fill the flat, similar to the genre having surrounded the both of you in the lab, he let his eyelids close and tilted his head back as he took in slow shaky breaths in an attempt to settle himself. There was no reason he should be this stirred up but the advances of those other men onto his girl had truly released something primal within him, spiking this odd desire that had been building within him for a few days.

Whilst he sat there, attempting to cool off, he drew in a deep breath into his scalding throat. His eyes opened slightly as he tasted the scents around him and while most were of his own musk there was something amiss. Drawing in a few quick huffs he flicked his gaze to his side toward the back of the couch and leaned closer to the fabric. The scent was stale but it still pricked at his spine, the gentle smell of the skeleton was nearly embedded into this cushion and with an irritated grumble the Lich pressed his jaw into the edge of the pillow and ground his jawline against the fabric down towards his neck in an attempt to replace this scent with his own.

“Hey, don't you scratch the couch I already have to worry about Chip doing that,” you giggled, peering out at him from hall as you scampered back in baggy sweats and a tank top with your cellphone in your hand. The monster merely snorted before repeating the motion, his jaws slightly open as he would check the scent until it was strong enough for his liking.

Sensing he was getting a tad feral you decided to give him some space, spinning around the edge of the wall to waltz into the kitchen with the stereo playing on the counter and dropped your phone beside the softly glowing machine. The sound quality of this device was immaculate as you rummaged around in the cupboards to pour yourself a glass of wine.

 

It wasn't a long wait before Jenny simply opened the door to your flat without knocking, the Lich was lounging on the furniture with his eyes closed as you and her said your hellos and started chatting like hens as Jenny sat a large paper bag on the counter while a bright light caught her eye.

“Oh my god, girlie-” your friend beamed, having spotted the stereo on the counter and went up to put her fingertips against the acrylic encasing the shedding yellow heart within, “-this is so beautiful! Where did you get this..? I want one.”

“G and Alphys made it for me,” you purred, taking a sip of wine as your friend took in the machine before her gaze shifted to the dark lab coat draped over the counter then pulled her vision up to see the Lich dozing with his back turned to her.

“Well good, he's being nice to you,” she grinned as she spun around and blinked as you handed her a glass of wine, Jenny leaned back against the counter with the newly acquired drink as she went on, “now I won't have to beat him up after school.”

You both began to giggle while the monster rolled his eyes beneath his lids. At least he had settled enough to where the ache in his groin had subsided though his irritation was still high though the arrival of this female didn't bother him as they rummaged through the brown bag and began to eat while talking. Slowly the monster stretched himself further, bending a knee upwards while his other hung off of the side of the couch to the floor as he brought his hands up behind his head and continued to slowly breath to the sounds of their conversation.

“So what did Jake think of G?” you smirked as you jabbed your plastic fork into some sun dried tomato penne.

She finished chewing before responding, her bright eyes flashing a smile as she spoke, “I tried to warn him how tall he was but I guess Gaster still unnerved him, it was like he was expecting him to murder you in the park or some shit-”

You couldn't hold back a laugh at this, leaning your hip against the counter as you studied Jenny who took a quick drink of wine before continuing, “he was like.. _'should we wait for your friend?'_ and I just laughed and teased him about being worried but he really did seem, like.. intimidated.”

“I told you he would be,” you smirked, sticking the pasta into your mouth as you continued to listen.

“So I had to ensure Jake that everything was okay and said that you guys were really good friends, nothing to worry about.”

Your smirk only deepened as you swallowed and raised your wine to your lips to take a gentle swig of red liquid before setting the glass down on the counter with a light clatter against the granite, you watched as Jenny set down her glass and focused back on her own pasta as you spoke up, “weelll I do have something to tell you about that-”

She gasped, nearly dropping her fork as she looked to you with wide eyes, “you're pregnant.”

“W-WHAT!?” you sputtered, bursting into a fit of laughter as the Lich snorted hard on the couch. The mere thought of that made his magic squirm within him.

“I don't know you're like preparing me for big news or something-!?” she yelled, baffled as you tried to catch your breath as your hand went to your chest and applied pressure against the heaving in your lungs.

“Jen-.. Jenny,” you sputtered, wiping your eyes as you chortled, “it doesn't work like that.”

“What do you mean it doesn't work like that-? You do the..” she brought her hands up and made a lewd gesture to which you just lost it at again, “you do the ding dang dong thing.”

You felt as if you were going to die, red in the face and unable to catch your breath you just bent over and smothered your mouth with a hand as you held yourself and tried to calm down but Jenny was really making it difficult to ease up as she just went on with a laugh of her own, “I'm being serious!”

The monster stayed clear of this conversation and left you on your own with this as you fanned your heated blush and cleared your throat while straightening up with tears in your eyes, “Jen..” you began, rubbing at your face for a moment before dropping your hands and let out a laugh as you breathed, “monsters aren't made out of DNA, they're made of magic.. it's literally physically impossible.”

“Well then.. how did Toriel have Asriel..?” she blinked in bewilderment.

You really were not prepared to have 'the talk' with Jenny but it looked as if you had no choice as you chuckled and calmed down, “well.. when two monsters love each other very much-” Jenny started to giggle wildly as you went on with a wide grin, “-they have to share both magic and their souls to make a new life, it's not something that can happen on accident.”

“Ohhh..” she said, grinning sheepishly while you sighed in relief and were about to speak but she beat you to the punch, “so if you didn't make a baby daddy out of Gaster what were you saying?”

“Baby- Dad- _oh my hell-_ ” you snorted, a new fit of laughter gracing your sore diaphragm.

The Lich was not familiar with human slang terminology but the mere verbiage of the saying left him.. unsettled, his eyelids cracking open to flick his white eyes to the corner of his sockets as he listened.

After a few more moments of the both of you laughing you settled, gulping in air as you shook your head and reached for your glass of wine, “well now my news doesn't sound as exciting as your hopeful drama.”

She just snickered as she went back to her food, giving you a break from her teasing as you took a heavy drink and set the glass down with a sigh, “we're just official now, that's all.”

Jenny hummed as she chewed through a broad smile, swallowing quickly as she breathed, “you and Sans weren't even official, huh?”

Shaking your head you grinned, “yeah.. you know me, I don't just dive into relationships.”

“I'm so guilty of that,” she giggled as you went back to your food, stuffing your face as she pulled her gaze to the Lich and projected her voice over the gentle music playing in the flat.

“Sorry Gaster, don't mind us just talking about you as if you aren't here.”

“I'm not,” he muttered, closing his eyes once more as he relaxed and you just giggled beside your friend as she looked back to you.

“He says he doesn't care,” you grinned.

“He's so funny,” Jenny purred, looking back to her pasta as she spoke, “Jake would have been so flustered if you said that around him.”

You finished up your meal before tossing your trash together and dumped it in the waste bin as you chirped, “so what.. he thinks that G was gonna eat me or something?”

Lightly laughing she shrugged as she picked through the rest of her own meal as you came back to the counter and hoisted up your glass as she replied, “I'm not sure, he's just protective. He felt soo bad about that ringtone thing too girlie..”

Your features softened as she nibbled through the remnants of her pasta and murmured, “like he wouldn't stop apologizing for it and felt so upset that it happened, he wiped his phone that night and everything.”

“Yeah..” you spoke softly, “accidents happen I guess, like what Sans said.”

The Lich didn't believe in _'accidents'_ , there was only foolish or purposeful acts though he kept this to himself as he tuned into the conversation.

“He wanted to make it up to you guys but wasn't really sure how, I told him it was fine and to just relax which he finally did. He seems eager to have a second chance with everyone so I suggested maybe dinner and he said that you should bring Gaster along too,” you blinked to her as you finished off your wine, “he felt as if he was being a bit rude because he caught himself staring.”

“Well I mean G stares at everyone all the time so-” you giggled, “-I can understand getting caught in those high beams of his.”

“Seems that's what he did to you,” she sung, drawing a blush on your cheeks as you just shook your head and went to fill up both of your glasses as she gathered her things and walked around you to toss her trash away.

“So when was Jake thinking of doing this..?” you murmured, not even sure if the Lich would agree to play along with the social event but that was all right as you could still have a good time regardless.

“Next week I guess,” she hummed, turning around to sit across the counter from you as she settled onto a bar stool while you leaned against the granite and smiled.

“Sure.. though things at the lab are getting kind of hectic so G probably wont be able to come.”

“Awe.. what's happening..? Something about a _'mustached twat waffle'_?” she giggled, referring to the angry text you sent her during the detectives badgering.

You filled in your friend with what happened today, going into livid detail with the detectives and how you managed to tell him off to which she applauded you at as she finally understood your bitchy text message earlier. Though her smiles fell as you described trying to help the dying monsters but were unable to, you finished up by saying it was generally just a hard day and you looked forward to relieving some stress and just stepping away from it for a few hours.

Suddenly your friend had new purpose as she gave you a determined look, “well I'm gonna help my best friend have a good night to make up for those creepers.”

Lightly smiling you sighed, your muscles having relaxed from the alcohol as she plucked your phone from the counter and started to go through your music. You blinked as she sighed and shook her head, “this aint gonna cut it girlie-”

Jenny turned off your music as she plucked her phone from her pocket and began to swipe through her own playlist with a mischievous grin, your eyebrows scrunched as you gave her a look while the Lich began to drift off. The silence was broken by a heavy bass ripping through the air with a female vocalist singing through the beat, you began to laugh at this club music and shook your head as she turned it up slightly and looked toward the stereo as she squealed, “This sounds amazing!”

The monster stirred on the couch at this odd music, it was like the genre you had always played but much harder with very sexual lyrics that somewhat took him off guard. Cracking his eyelids open he leaned his head over against his arm as he peered at the both of you swaying to the music as you laughed and spoke up, “go on, you can turn it up nobody else can hear it but us!”

“You're lying!” she laughed but complied, the heavy beat warbling through your form as your body naturally reacted as you tapped into the beat.

“I'm not!” you laughed, your hips dipping along as you skillfully stepped through the kitchen and twirled to the front door as her eyes followed you and you yelled over the lyrics, “come over here, bitch!”

With a gentle huff the Lich found your movements mesmerizing, his body reacting as he pulled himself up and turned to press his back against the couch with his arms draping over the back of the cushions as he tilted his chin up and studied your motions as you pulled the front door open and gestured out into the hall as Jenny pranced up beside you.

She glared at you playfully but when she stood in the hall she seemed in shock as you began to laugh, whirling around she darted back into the room and met the Lich's amused gaze as her face lit up and she squealed, “how is this even possible!?”

“Magic!” you giggled, leaving the door open as you fluidly fell in line with the beat as Jenny turned and ducked out of the door into the hall while giggling madly. Your raucous caused your neighbors door to open while your eyes panned over to the scientist and lowered your eyelids as you found him fixated, flicking your tongue over your lips you left your mouth lightly parted as Jenny sauntered back inside and laughed with her own motions that were equally lewd.

Just when he had settled himself you had managed to strike that fire back within him, his stares hungry as he felt this burning settle into his gut just as he noticed Asriel and Frisk scamper up to the door and stare into the room with confusion. Asriel's voice snapped your attention to the door though you kept swaying your hips as your eyes met him, “what the hell are you two doing..?”

Jenny spun around and reached her hands out into the hall, the two kids taking her hands curiously as she pulled them into the flat to grace them with heavy bass and feminine lyrics that wove with the music. Frisk began to laugh while Asriel was trying to adjust to the genre but the little ambassador was quick on the uptake as they shuffled their feet and impressed you with their moves as you laughed and clapped your hands.

Lightly bobbing your head Jenny released Asriel's hand as the two kids laughed and danced together while you met your friends gaze, you both gave a playful flirtatious smirk and met each other in the middle of the hall as you swayed and slid your feet across the floor. The Lich's eyes dilated, this bass tickled his magic and made him draw in a heavy breath as he observed the scene though his attention was mainly focused on you while his tongue rolled across the back of his fangs.

A deep chuckle drew your attention to the door as you found Sans standing there with an exhausted look over his face, the crowd in the hall completely blocked his view of the living room and thus the Lich.

“what the hell is going on..?”

Giggling you swayed up to the skeleton and held your hands out, he merely gave you an odd look but slowly pulled his hands from his pockets as you lightly grabbed onto his cold wrists and pulled him inside to grace him with the loud lyrics pounding into his skull. It was quite a contrast to the quiet hall but he merely began to laugh deeply within his bones as you let him go and grinned, “flash dance party, Sans!”

Even as the song changed it was well balanced and smooth, this vocalist was also a woman and paired with the last singer but you were actually familiar with this song. Jenny beat you to start singing as you turned back to her and laughed as you both volleyed the lyrics back and forth while sweat began to build up on the skeleton's porcelain skull.

'Can't nobody love you _like me'_

'Can't nobody hug you _like me'_

'Can't nobody touch you _like me'_

 _'Like me_ '

The kids were laughing hysterically as they danced between the skeleton and you two girls as you both became very close, Sans may not have noticed Gaster but the Lich knew he was there equally entranced. It was neigh impossible to detect the scientist's magic as the bass thrummed and pounded through the air, equally impressive with his growing heat as he grasped onto his magic and waited for just the right moment. If this skeleton wanted to watch his girl, he'd give him something to look at.

Sweat was building up along the back of your neck as your markings tingled heavily though it only added to the overall experience as your soul was brimming with golden energy, while the song played and you two kept rallying the lyrics the chorus finally came back around as you two twirled so you were facing the door and met Sans' blue hued sockets with a smoldering stare over Jenny's shoulder. Frisk was showing Asriel how to move his feet below you while Jenny just let out a soft pant through her smile though just as she was about to start a new volley a broad, scalding hot figure pressed against your back from behind. The lyrics continued anyways for her in the background.

_'Can't nobody love you like me'_

Your friend backed up a bit with her eyes wide as she squealed in a high pitched laugh while you felt Gaster's hand at your neck and a hard bulge pressed into the uppermost part of your ass. His long black tongue swiped from the side of your neck and slowly drug upwards across your markings as you gasped heavily with a hard shudder that paused your movements. Luckily the music was loud enough to smother the involuntary moan that left your throat as your eyelids fluttered and vision blurred though the skeleton felt a shock strike through his spine as his expression was replaced with pure horror. The Lich met Sans' gaze with his own shimmering white eyes which were partially cut off from his half lidded expression.

_'Can't nobody touch you like me'_

The oily tendril flicked up against your jawline as he pulled his tongue back in his jaws to murmur against the side of your face, “like me.”

He was gone as soon as he had appeared and left you shaken, trying to process what just happened as you panted and brought your hand up to wipe the spit off of your neck as Jenny just was losing it.

“Oh my god girlie-! He has a fucking hole in his tongue too!?”

Blushing wildly you wiped the scientist's hot spittle from your flesh as you met your friends wild expression while the kids looked up to you. Asriel looked disgusted but Frisk gave you a thumbs up which made your embarrassment much worse. Sans was in shock, sweat beading down his spine and even though he couldn't understand what the Lich had said his popping, static filled syllables jarred him to the core.

You saw Jenny opening her mouth and lunged forward to cover her lips with your unsullied hand as you laughed, “keep it to yourself, Jen!”

Removing your hand from your friend's face the song continued to play as Sans just stood with his sockets black, sweating profusely with the bridge of his nose still hued into a baby blue color as Jenny giggled, “what did he say?!”

Backing up you laughed sheepishly, the wine making you a tad loose lipped at you replied, “like me.”

She just cackled and threw her head back as she laughed though Sans just shuddered, replaying the scene in his head over and over as you looked to him and found him nearly traumatized. Laughing you stepped up to him quickly and grabbed onto his shoulders to pull him fully in the flat and closed the door behind him with your foot as you all filed into the kitchen, Jenny pranced up to the counter to turn down the volume on the stereo so you could all hear yourselves as Asriel groaned.

“You guys are always so gross around me!”

“We are so not,” you laughed as Sans shook his head to bring back his white pupils, watching you leave him as he stood awkwardly by the hall while you went to the counter next to Jenny and picked up your wine glass as the two kids clambered up onto the granite counter top and sat around the little stereo. While Frisk seemed intrigued by the device Asriel was more pointed as he settled in with his legs dangling off the counter top as he folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

“Pfft-” the goat sputtered, turning his gaze up to meet yours as you took a drink of wine with Sans displaced from the group trying to get a grip, “-yeah, you were not that nasty until you met him.”

You chuckled deeply as Sans' fake grin faltered. He reached for his magic, about to teleport out of the flat but your gaze caught him as you turned your view over your shoulder. You held him in place with your eyes as you purred, “Sans would disagree with you on that.”

Jenny cat called as she howled a deep, _“ooooooohhhhh, ow ow!”_

Asriel gagged while Frisk just began to laugh, shaking their head as Sans' true gentle expression slowly came back to his face with his eyelids drooped and a deeper tint of blue graced his sockets as he sauntered up to the counter. You offered him your glass of wine to which he took thankfully.

The skeleton brought the glass up to his teeth as he parted them carefully to swish down the alcohol which burned sweetly along his softly illuminated tongue, he could taste your scent along with the wine on his palate from the sweat coating the back of your neck and while you started to laugh along with Jenny he merely felt a deep stirring in his bones.

 _'What are you guys doing tonight?'_ Frisk signed, you grinned as you explained your plans and began to strike up a conversation with the entire group with Sans standing closely by your side to enjoy your scent and warm presence. He wasn't entirely tuned in to what was being said as he marinated on the light scent of the Lich's residual magic tingling on your neck, it burned his nostrils with a charred, smoky ashen texture. The skeleton suppressed a snicker. He had never known his Father was capable of going into heat, he found it only more amusing that it was thick and yet you didn't reek of the monster.. Gaster was fighting it and the skeleton knew exactly why. It would be terrifying to be ravaged by such a powerful beast incapable of emotional understanding, one sided relations of such violence would be the final nail in the coffin.

 _'Patience..'_ he thought to himself as he took a final swig and downed the glass much to your laughter and light swiping at him in a half-assed attempt to stop him. Chuckling the skeleton handed the glass back for you to refill, he watched your facial expressions as you spoke in reply to something Asriel had said with his eyes trailing to your glistening neck.

He could have patience for things to go back to how they used to be.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans.. you aren't being sly Sans.. 8)  
> Sans.. shtahp. You're gonna get it boi-
> 
> Unless ya know Sun gets it first. >83  
> TUNE BACK IN FOR MORE AS I SHOULD BE READY TO POST THE LAST CHAP OF THIS BOMB IN A FEW DAYS MY CHILDRENS.  
> -shuffles off stage-


	15. Arousal, Sweat and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finish up discussion in the flat and head out to the club, meanwhile the Lich finds himself slowly slipping into ferality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had to be cut in half with how absolutely huge it became. (over 30 pages, yeah.)  
> The next part should be uploaded later today as well I'm just combing through it and making sure everything flows right and leaves on a good note for a break before the next bomb.
> 
> WARNING GUYS  
> GRAPHIC SCENES ARE GONNA HAPPEN AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER  
> Blood and Violence, thoughts of harm and violence and G slowly descending into madness are strong in these next two chapters and will live up to the 'dark themes' tag in this fic.  
> There is still fun dialogue/ect but I feel it's important to really warn you guys because the last time I made Gaster somewhat scary in TAM I gave a few people heart attacks so keep this warning in mind please.  
> If you don't like this kind of stuff it's best to walk away now because it's a reoccurring theme in my writing and will be a biiiig part of the main arch of this story which we are drawing upon.
> 
> With that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy the update served up hot just for you! <3

Gaster landed back in his office, radiating heat into the cold atmosphere as his magic thrummed across the hard surfaces of the empty, quiet room. He found himself soon pacing before his desk, his eyes flicking and shuddering against the heat in his gut as he mulled over the taste on his tongue from her skin. He had experienced lust and desire but this inner, primal instinct was making it hard to think as his hide was tense and quivered with the occasional muscle spasm in his back and neck.

His foot falls were heavy against the solid floor, his pacing passing into minutes and nearly struck half an hour as he couldn't seem to calm down. Anytime he felt as if he were ready to relax he would simply get a taste of her flesh, hear her whimpers and feel her breath as her soul began to overflow once more and wove into his fibrous tissue. His jaws began to grind together tightly, the noise cringe worthy as he paced to and fro with his hands at his lower back yet his shoulders were slightly hunched as he moved and festered.

Luckily Alphys left him alone tonight, he tried to focus on his work to distract himself for the next few hours but he merely could not keep his attention professional. Nearing the end of his wits he then strode for the double doors, his magic making his bones ache as he straightened up and summoned an array of hands that hovered around him to open the door and closed it behind him as he struck out into the corridor. His eyes glanced over a few examination rooms before picking one and flung the door open to step inside with his apparitions following close behind, he flicked the lights on with a bony finger and made his way towards the far cabinet.

Rummaging through the shelves and the numerous different medicines lying within he deeply hummed, rolling the idea in his mind before he settled on a drug and plucked it from the back of the shelf as to not disturb the orderly presentation. He then ordered another bony hand to pilfer a pair needles before shutting the cabinet and drew his true hands from behind his back. While the bony apparitions went to work drawing dosage into the syringes from the tiny bottle he rolled up both sleeves, feeling unusually hot with his hide sensitive to the soft rubbing of the fabric bunched at his elbows.

He had his apparitions cap off the extra needle but held his arm outward with his balled up hand facing the ceiling, he took the needle from the awaiting skeletal hand and drew it to his arm but noticed how his claws were trembling, shaking the needle. The hard line of his mouth started to turn into a frown as his brows pulled together slowly, how could he be this bothered? It was strange. The sensation much like fighting his own body in an attempt to regain control but his instinct was winning. All he wanted to do was to ravish her.. but he wouldn't allow such feral brooding to take over his sanity.

Taking a moment to breathe the Lich glared at his arm, needle in hand and ready he spun around to lean back against the counter. He settled in as he waited for his fingers to stop shaking. It took all but a few minutes and when the scientist noticed the wavering cease he accurately stuck the needle into his arm, his sockets twitching at the sting as he pushed on the plunger and sent the ice cold concoction into his nearly sweating form. The sensation was uncomfortable, the Lich closed his eyes and focused in on his breath so much so that he didn't even hear the door open until a light gasp drew his attention upwards to take in the white, shocked expression hidden behind round, red framed glasses.

Ah, the stoat.

“E-excuse me-.. Doctor, are you all right..?” she murmured, her delicate paws holding the door open as her tail flicked behind her in a dash of black. For some reason he found himself fixating on this monster, her slender body drawing his gaze while her nose began to twitch lightly.

The Lich yanked the syringe from his arm as his eyes flicked up to meet hers, dilating wildly as she blinked and shuddered at his cold expression. This inner fire within him raged on, particles of ice floating in his veins and only made his spine shudder under the harsh contrast, reflecting in his eyes as his pupils began to waver. The scientist began to stand up straight once more and the woman took a tentative step back as she drew in a breath and tried to not gag, it was like cigarette smoke burning her esophagus and she instantly knew what was going on.

His magic was so thick it began to materialize in the air, that is what was fogging around her snout as she spoke timidly, “I was merely checking our stock to make sure those detectives didn't take anything. Pardon me-”

The white monster swiftly twirled back out into the hallway as the Lich stood and slowly parted his jaws to inhale the new scent at his palate, it made him snort in disappointment. This female tasted of honey while he was craving.. daisies.

It took him a few moments to realize this dose hardly helped at all and with an irritated growl he swiped the extra syringe and placed it into his slacks as he left the room and dropped the used needle in the disposal box on the wall. He paused once out in the hall and peered around the corridor with his hands in his pockets and shoulders straight, his jaws slightly parting to take in the scents having wafted through here throughout the day and that is when he caught it. The gentle taste he had been craving. Curiously he turned his gaze towards his office and followed this sensation back into the large room, trailing up to his desk where he peered down at the large trenches scratched into the surface.

Realization struck him and he rolled his eyes as he took a hand from his pocket, placing his fingertips against his brow while he closed his sockets and breathed out an unbelievable sigh. Of course, it had been so long since he had experienced a rut it hadn't even clicked with him. Heat cycles always varied depending on the monster type and undead monsters did not commonly go through it which had perhaps been the downfall of skeletal monsters as a whole. There was just not a strong need to breed in the species and he himself had been an only child, though those early memories were long gone to shroud in haze of the past.

He removed the hand from his face as he pulled his other free from his pocket with the needle tucked between his fingers as he rounded the desk and sat down in his chair with a grunt, angrily uncapping the needle to jam this syringe into his arm as well and gave himself another dose of the chilling concoction in hopes to still his need. If he could not remain in control the girl would surely suffer his unbridled passion, her earlier mewls of protest already struck him as being unacceptable and yet oh so tantalizing at the same time. Her fearful protests would not stop him a second time.

With a light grunt he finished the injection and ripped the needle from his hardened hide, flexing and relaxing his digits as he panted with effort to remain seated, to remain still. To help sedate himself he ordered bony hands to shut the lights off and pull out a bottle of scotch, the nearly full heavy glass knocking against the wood before him gently as the syringe rolled from his laxing fingertips and clattered to the floor as he reached for the open bottle and eased back in the chair. He kicked his feet up onto the desk and growled heavily, his magic thrumming along the hard surfaces as he peered over to the machine to watch the soft blue glow bubble gently within both vats.

He could wait a few hours, gain control and slowly release his pent up desire over the next few days and while she may be exhausted at his enthusiasm it would be better than having instinct breed with her. That would not end well. He snorted as he took a heavy dose of alcohol, the liquid biting at his gums and scorching his throat before tilting the bottle away with a sigh. The Lich closed his eyes as he settled in against the light tremble working in his limbs, urging him to move around in his predatory state.

This was going to be a long ride.

 

***

 

The wine had muddled your ability to fully be effected by the Lich's infesting magic curdling in your markings, squirming against your soul, as you laughed along with the large group having gathered in the kitchen. As Undyne and Alphys arrived you changed into more fitting club attire while the little yellow monster was in a cute dress and Undyne wore tight leggings and a crop top above her sports bra, you had a feeling she didn't own regular ones.

Jenny whipped up some fruity mix drinks while Undyne boasted about her grip and bite strength in the tests they also had to undertake. Her stats were pretty strong especially compared to humans though she was nowhere near the strength that Gaster had possessed. With a smug, tipsy stare you looked across the kitchen to the warrior and Alphys who were leaning against the island while you and Sans were by the sink. The kids were still on the counter but were equally included in the conversation as they sat on the edge of the granite and looked to you as you spoke.

“I thought G was going to break that device.”

The woman snorted, folding her arms as she smirked, her words coated in sarcasm, “yeah right!”

Alphys nervously stammered with a gentle smile, “i-it's t-true.. I t-thought th-the same t-thing..”

“nobody can bite that hard,” Sans drawled, not impressed.

Playfully you chirped to him, watching him from the corner of your eyes as he met your gaze sleepily, “what were your stats bone boy?”

He shrugged, his smile becoming teasing as you giggled. Asriel sighed loudly as he gestured to the skeleton, “just tell us, or are you just scared?”

“kid, i'm _rattled_ to the _bone._ ”

Frisk began to giggle wildly while you just palmed your face and tried to settle your own chuckles as Undyne beamed and barked, “I doubt you can beat the bite force of five thirty!”

Jenny pipped up as she turned around with some cups to hand to both you and Sans who took the drinks from her, “is that a lot?” she asked.

Alphys watched as the woman spun around and gathered two more cups to hand them to Undyne and herself, the woman held the cup with both hands and peered into it to be met with a blood orange color as she stammered, “h-humans are a-around one hundred and seventy but it c-can vary depending o-on individuals.”

Your friend whistled, impressed as she skipped back up to the counter and grabbed two more cups for Frisk and Asriel that were virgin versions of her mixed cocktail. While she handed the cups to the kids they peered inside curiously as you took a drink yourself and were met with tropical fruits with a playful bite at your tongue, just the right strength for you.

Lightly sighing from your refreshing drink you glanced to the skeleton who was tasting the drink as well though he found it rather sweet, your gazes meet as you smirked and said with a purr, “I'll tell you what G got if you tell me what you got.”

His own grin deepened as he lowered the cup, a blue glow flicking past his jaws as he closed his mouth and thought for a moment as the room focused on him as he chuckled, “i bite like a hyena, baby.”

You just began to laugh while Undyne gave him a confused sneer and Alphys noticed as she giggled and spoke up through the gentle music playing in the room, “t-thirteen hu-hundred..”

The warrior could hard believe it, he beat her by a landslide. Your gaze drifted back to the counter as Frisk signed with the cup between their knees.

_'What did Gaster get?'_

“Nearly twenty six hundred-”

Undyne gasped as did Jenny who stood beside you and began to stare at your neck in shock, even Sans sputtered at this as his gaze turned to serious concern as he followed suite of Jenny but you just began to laugh while Asriel grinned widely as he yipped.

“I knew it would be impressive!”

You were glad to know Asriel liked Gaster so much, even Frisk seemed enthralled by this news as they picked their cup up and went to take a few sips from it as you glanced around and found everyone staring at you.

Undyne spoke up as you lowered your cup, feeling too buzzed to be nervous as she pointed a finger at you from the hand holding her drink, “that means he could have bitten your shoulder clean off, punk..”

“Yeah, but he didn't,” you shrugged, “he's careful.”

Sans snorted at that, lifting his cup to take another hearty drink to prevent from saying anything.

Alphys nervously tapped against her cup as she cleared her throat and murmured, barely audible as you trained in on her, “l-let us know.. i-if h-he's.. y-you know-”

“Guys-” you began to chuckle, drawing their attention as you glanced over them and quipped, “don't make me say this in front of the kids.”

Asriel gasped in offense as Frisk quickly signed to you, _'we aren't stupid.'_

“I know you aren't stupid-” you laughed lightly, missing how Sans trained in on you, “-but this isn't an appropriate-”

“Just spit it out,” the goat snorted as Undyne jabbed him in the arm with her elbow playfully whilst she smirked.

“Kid, we all know she wont rat out Gaster-”

With a heavy snort you cut her off, your buzz whisking away the censor you had been careful to step around with everyone for months and just couldn't keep it in any longer. Everyone pestered you about your relationship, no one seemed to trust the Lich but you and while that was fine and dandy their constant questioning of safety was irritating. There was only one way to shut them up for good and it flowed through your lips like thick velvet as you caught the warriors eye, “it has nothing to do with 'ratting' him out-”

“yeah yeah..” Sans chided, drawing your attention, “we know.”

You all had heard this argument and lecture a thousand times over and while you were starting to get heated Jenny set her cup down and clapped her hands loudly, making you jump and look to her as she cheerfully announced, “enough of that, let's get out of here!”

Sighing you still felt rustled though Undyne just laughed and downed her drink as Alphys set the untouched beverage on the counter before she was ushered to the front door as Jenny turned off the stereo. Frisk and Asriel jumped down from the counter as the front door opened and they filed out while you set your cup down, Jenny prancing by you to the hall. As you went to follow you felt bony hand grip at your wrist and stopped you in your tracks.

Your brows furrowed as you looked over to Sans who was staring at you with a half lidded, exhausted expression with his own cup resting behind him on the counter as he spoke carefully, “seriously, you know we are just lookin' out for you, dollface.”

Somewhere, deep within your brain, a wire snapped.

Letting out a slow breath your annoyed expression was replaced with a blissful one as you turned towards Sans and gazed into his eyes which made him awkwardly take his hand off of you though before he could think you were on him. Hands grasping into his blue coat you shoved him back against the counter with your hips pressed against his bony pelvis jutting from his clothing, you hovered your face above his startled, wide eyed expression with sweat building up on the back of his neck as you murmured sensually, “ _maybe I like getting fucked like a bitch in heat,_ _ **dollface.**_ ”

You kept eye contact with the skeleton as his sockets went black, his fangs beginning to divot as you shifted and rolled your body along him as a harsh pant beat through your teeth into his face while you whispered, “you know I can take it, Sans..”

The skeleton's bones began to swelter at this position, your supple body held fast to his cold, rigid form as his hands slowly crept forward to try to touch at your waist as you finished up, “don't try to tell me what I can or can't handle just because it's not with _you._ ”

His bony digits went rigid, clawing at the air as he pressed his wrists forward to your waist but just as he landed his fingertips against your outer thighs you tilted your chin towards him and utterly made him freeze as your flushed lips pressed against the side of his sharp fangs. Pulling away with a soft peck you flashed him a smirk and shoved off of him to stand fully and went to walk out of the flat, swiping your phone off of the counter as you joined the others saying goodbye to Ariel and Frisk in the corridor.

Sans stood there, frozen in place with his hands clutching the air at where you had just been moments ago as a bright blue flush graced the edges of his sockets. He tried to process what just happened but he was stunned motionless. Even though those words had been cruel it only excited him, a shiver rolling down his spine as he pulled his hands back into the pockets of his jacket while Asriel poked his head around the wall and barked at the dazed monster, “c'moon, you are so slow!”

He could hear the main group heading down the steps of the building yet it still took him a moment to blink, bringing his white pupils back into his skull before he smiled flatly to the kid who snorted at him impatiently.

“sure kiddo, be there in a sec. sun just wanted me to feed chip.”

The child gave him an odd look but slunk off anyways, closing the door behind him as the skeleton stood there and closed his eyes to regain his breathing and lightly chuckled with a shake of his head.

 _'what a bitch..'_ he thought, a quiver radiating along his magic and through his marrow as he lingered on the moment.

 

***

 

The Lich winced, his brows furrowing as his chin dropped to his chest and he slumped forward in the office chair. His claws were slicing at the bottle in his trembling fist as a hard pant pressed through his burning throat, slowly he pulled his feet off of the desk and set them onto the floor as his body hunched over. Setting the bottle against his leg he used his other hand to press into the side of his heated face, a warbling snarl tore through his body in a guttural noise that shook his entire frame and sloshed the quarter full bottle's contents about.

With his lips trembling, gums slightly bared to the dark room the scientist's magic flared with this influx of golden energy that had trembled so sensually along his own. This torture was testing his limits, he was getting to the point where he wanted to make her shake and shudder as his own body was. A bad feeling was setting into his spine, threatening his property, yet he reigned himself in as he sat and quivered with building ferality. He would not succumb to this.

A hiss whistled through his tight jaws as he shook his head side to side, cracking his neck loudly while his claws dug into his facial features as if grasping for a sense of relief. This insanity was pouring molten iron through his veins, having melted the doses of sedative long ago with the only restraint left being the light dizziness in his vision from the alcohol. It wasn't enough.

He wanted to hear her breathe, feel her shudder and even listen to the soft whimpering of tears spilling down her cheeks.

Aggravated the Lich threw himself forward, knocking his chair back against the wall as he tested the weight of the bottle of scotch in his hand. He stepped forward into the room and began to pace once more, his claws scratching along the surface of the glass held loosely in his palm. His breathing was hard and heavy as his magic began to affect the machine on the wall, the vats flickering and waving under the stress of such pressure. The monster became consumed in his harsh footsteps clicking against the cold floor, his hide rippling with tremors and desire as it seemed he could not get these cravings to leave him.

He needed something stronger. He needed _something_. _**Now.**_

 

***

 

Alphys was the designated driver of the night, she joked around with all of you as she brought you all downtown to the hustle and bustle of the night life. You felt energized, powerful and ready to just let loose with your friends especially after all this mixed attention these men were giving you. With the car parked and your posse heading down the street you hardly even thought about your interaction with Sans, he had been irritating you for awhile and if it took a hard buzz and harsh words to get him to finally step off then so be it. He has had months now to move on and get over it but he just still held onto this grudge against the scientist, perhaps jabbing him in a sensitive area was just enough to shock him out of his possessive, persistent nature.

The cool night air danced across your skin as you walked in step with Jenny who was giggling and joking with Undyne beside her, your legs felt strong and soul light as your markings tightened into your flesh but you hardly noticed this as you all came up onto the building and slipped inside. It seems as if you arrived just in time, the atmosphere of this dark, cool building jived within your form as you all took in your surroundings.

There was quite a crowd on the dance floor though you all decided to make your way across the room further into the building, a long bar pressed against the back wall as a few booths and stand up tables lined along one end. On the west side of the room there was more of a sitting area and railing that looked over the dance floor and bar, people and monsters alike talking and laughing amidst the bouncing music. As you all filed over to a standing table in the bar you began to giggle wildly as you caught the last tid bit of the conversation your friends were having, Jenny's loud voice cutting through the music embracing your group as you gathered around the wooden slab.

“I still have to take Jake here-!” her words suddenly stopped as you all rounded the circular table and set your elbows on top of it as you looked out across the dance floor curiously, the purple UV lights leaking into the bar as you were pretty close to the action. Your neck was flashing to your group as your hair parted away from your markings as you watched the dancers. They were silent for a few moments before you felt Jenny grab your arm, you lazily looked back into her wide eyed expression and then furrowed your brow as you glanced to Undyne and Alphys who were staring slack jawed at you as well.

“..what?” you snickered.

Jenny merely shook her head and took out her phone, hazily you watched her as she brought up the camera and set it to a selfie mode before showing you the screen and at first you were caught up in your face but your eyes quickly shot down to your neck and noticed the tinge of UV light flaring from the dance floor. The soft purple light brushed along the marks emblazoned in your skin to a bright blue color, the triangular symbols even seeming to radiate this magnificent hue themselves. You gasped and grabbed her phone, tearing it from her hands as you held it closer and tilted your shoulder out of the light to watch the glow fade from the black marks on your skin.

“Hey punk, is this.. normal?”

You glanced up to see Undyne's worried expression but only began to laugh wildly, “I've never seen this before this is insane! Why is it doing this..?”

As your attention went back to the screen to rotate your shoulder back into the light Alphys spoke up quickly, “i-it's s-supposed to b-be noticed..”

Jenny reached her hand back out for her phone and you surrendered it as you pulled your hair forward to cover the marks as you laughed, too buzzed to care while your friend spoke up to Alphys and Undyne, “how many monsters know about.. this stuff?”

Alphys shook her head, “o-only us.”

Undyne nodded, smiling wide as she wrapped an arm around Alphys while you just looked to them with sparkles in your eyes as the music began to tug at your soul, “then there is nothing to worry about, come on!”

Jenny pocketed her phone with a large grin and held her hands out for you to take and you did so gratefully as she led you down to the dance floor and you both slipped into the throng while the other two stayed on the edges to escape easier if need be since Alphys was a bit intimidated.

You lost yourself to the music as Jenny danced and swayed along with you, planning on sweating out the tension and stress of the day so you could tackle Monday with a brand new energy. Although, while you were so focused in on yourself, you missed how the light parting of your hair made your shimmering markings visible to a tall, short haired man on the other side of the room in the lounge area which had a perfect view, he was leaning across the railing with a drink in his hand while he studied you. Shaking his head he could hardly believe his eyes and brought his phone out, tapping on the screen as his eyes flicked back up to your twirling and dipping form as he texted, _'Princess at ten o'clock.'_

 

Lost in your motions you connected with your friends rhythm as you both swayed and stepped with the beat, the crowd around you both twisting and churning naturally though you were in your own realm in this moment in time. You weren't even sure how long you had been dancing for as suddenly you felt someone encroach into your personal bubble, glancing over your shoulder you spun around to see a smiling familiar face who shyly spoke to you.

“Hey! I thought I recognized you, it's me, Logan!”

Blinking wildly, still swaying with the music along with this man you laughed and took a step back from him, “gonna ask me for my number again, creep?”

He feigned hurt, placing his hand over his chest as Jenny spun up beside you and glanced over this man as he spoke, “I wanted to just apologize to you-”

“Who are you?” Jenny quipped, placing her hands on her hips as she took a threatening step forward and caused the man to turn his attention to her as you smirked and retorted.

“One of the guys that tried to hit G with a magic blocker,” you replied with a snort to which Jenny narrowed her eyes directly at this man as he stammered.

“w-whoa- hey now I didn't know Mike had-”

Jenny took another step forward as you twirled away into the crowd back towards Alphys and Undyne as your friend took over and began to chastise this man, she knew you were done being harassed and wouldn't let anybody step on your toes tonight. It even went so far as the man tried to bear down on her though the crowd noticed and began to step in as well, you merely just laughed to yourself as you skillfully pranced through the crowd back to the edge and saw Logan get chased off though you lost him in the chaos of the bar as you came back up on Undyne and Alphys who were gently swaying to the beat.

They greeted your sweating, flushed form with smiles as Undyne asked how things were in the center and you merely laughed loudly, “like over a hundred and ten degrees!”

Shrugging off that dodged bullet you continued to enjoy your time with your friends but you jumped as you felt someone come up and press against your back, with a glare you shot your gaze over your shoulder but just saw Jenny's smiling face as she laughed and playfully ground against you as you shook your head.

“Jesus, Jen I thought you were some creep!”

“Girlie, you let Gaster touch you like this but not your _wife?_ ” she laughed from behind as you danced closely, beads of sweat trailing down your skin at your swift movements while Alphys began to blush wildly at the display grabbing a bit of attention though Undyne just rallied the both of you by hooting.

As you danced away Logan stewed at the bar, trying to find where your group went but it wasn't hard to spot your glowing markings as he texted vigorously beneath a table. His fingers suddenly stumbled against his device as he processed what he was seeing, his eyes slightly widening at the view he was graced with and he swallowed deeply as he finished up his message and stuffed the phone in his pocket. He hadn't expected you to be here and he certainly hadn't expected you and your friend to be so.. _close._

 

You and Jenny had been out and about together before but over the past few months you two really had become close friends, this display was nothing more than just sharing a moment with your friend platonically. Through the gentle buzz of alcohol working through your body you hardly noticed the twisting magic of the Lich trailing up along your form, flicking along the heat seeping from your skin as a smile stained your lips while you allowed your eyelids to close momentarily as you both fell in step with one another. This tension, intertwining with the bass tickling your chest, pummeled against the magic building around your soul inviting it to stroke along the shedding, quivering, golden flecks of light.

 

 

***

 

Her energy was tantalizing him, teasing him.. _begging_ him.

A shuddering, angry roar seared through the scientist's throat as he spun and hoisted the bottle in his shivering claws before throwing the glass violently outward at the wall. He didn't even care to see it shatter, the clinking of glass and dribbling of smoky liquid down the side of the pristine wall was left behind him as he pressed forth to the double doors with an array of bony hands spinning up around him. Their cold digits were tense, twitching heavily under the stress of their master as he commanded them to shove open the metal doors as he stepped through the threshold to the dimly lit facility before him.

Without hesitating he took long, demanding strides down the corridor with the doors along the side of him quivering in place as he passed them by and left the area eerily silent. Gaster refused to teleport, he knew where his magic wanted to take him but his brain fought this primitive urge of dominance and carnal need. He couldn't risk ruining her in one night, she wouldn't be able to handle this intensity. It was more lucrative idea to slowly bleed this desire out for the next few days and he would need assistance to help with this plan. Swiftly he made his way to the pharmacy, any of the remaining technicians on night watch had immediately sensed this monster and scrambled clear of his line of sight.

His eyes caught onto the black tipped tail of the stoat as she rounded a corner and he found his legs tensing at the quick movement, his spine shuddering in a sick sort of excitement as he continued to swiftly glide through the halls. It was a shame she was so perceptive, he had lost this chase before it had even begun. Like a rabid animal the Lich's eyes took in his surroundings curiously as he made his way through the sparse, dimly lit facility.

As he strode he could feel his influence nearly beginning to harm the fallen monsters in their rooms. Their souls quivered in fear, struggling to remain clinging to the small amount of hope left within as he passed by while the lights in the ceiling were jarred by his heavy magic. His very presence was threatening another mass death rate in this ward but what did it matter, they were all already dead anyways.

To get into the pharmacy itself the technician at the counter had to unlock the doors but the Lich merely had a summoned hand grope up underneath the empty desk to press the button hovering just above a technician that had ducked down to avoid being noticed by the monster. His magic was painful to be around and the young lizard merely shut their eyes and shook as they heard the monster pass through the door and shut it loudly behind him with a reverberating BANG.

Gaster could taste prey all around him, his tongue rolling in his mouth as his eyes shuddered and attempted to roll back beneath his drooping eyelids, his jaws parted while he drew in a heavy breath of air. The inside of this room was rather large, stocked to the brim with many medicines and equipment and while it was empty now he could taste the monsters that had been in here earlier and it shook him to the bone as his predatory instinct activated and shot his sockets back open, his gaze flicking frantically over the shelves as he perused them.

Stalking with jerking, abrupt movements the scientist snatched up materials as he went along. Nothing in their current possession could sedate such a fired heat. There were medicines to treat these symptoms but they weren't commonly used as monster kind needed to repopulate. However, the Lich knew his desire was not only full of lust.. it also sought the coppery tinge of blood. Violence and sex were one in the same to him, excitement was excitement. His claws twitched heavily as he stepped and tried to focus on this new task as the girls energy shuddered and sparked within him, drawing an occasional light pant from his throat.

A harsh grunt broke through his lungs as the doctor went to work on assembling a much stronger sedative specially fitted for him, it became his new fixation as he had his dozen hands multitasking all throughout the room while his magic wove into the area and claimed it as his own. He was so entrenched in his work he hardly noticed as the souls of the night crew pressed themselves far, far away from the pharmacy and holed up in the employee lounge clear against the eastern wing.

They had never felt such power and it terrified them, even Claire found herself making coffee for her colleagues who were unnaturally quiet as the lights of the facility gently buzzed, flickered and fluttered periodically. The stoat's mind went to the scientist as she dumped the fresh grounds into the machine and switched it on, the lights above trembling as a frown pulled on her lips. She was so familiar with monster biology but this.. this was of nothing less than a monster who had a high level of violence and it even put old wives tales to shame.

What species of monster could be so inherently aggressive, so dark..?

Curiously she drew her cellphone from her pocket and scrolled through her contacts before tapping on a name and brought the device up to the side of her face, as there was an answer she lightly breathed out as she spoke, “Mister Briggs.. I have a question..”

 

***

 

Eventually your muscles began to burn with the effort you were exerting, Alphys and Undyne had dropped from Jenny and yourself awhile ago as they saved a table for you both in the bar. Finally deciding to call it quits you turned to Jenny and panted, “ready to refuel?”

She giggled and nodded, grabbing your hand. Smiling widely you laced your fingers with hers and walked off of the dance floor, another woman being grabbed by your markings and called after you, “nice tats, girl!”

You threw a 'thank you' over your shoulder and complimented her top to which she flushed at. As you faced forward once more a monster caught your eye, he was dressed quite stylishly in a black vest and slacks while the black beady eyes of the cream hamster-esc monster grinned to you and made a light remark, “I like your style, friend.”

You winked at him and giggled as the fur on his cheeks lightly puffed as you replied while walking passed, “thank you, but I'm not nearly as sharp as you, my friend.”

The monster blinked happily, flattered, as he watched you pass on by with a bright smile. He wasn't given much time to stand by himself as he heard a loud _'Parker!'._ The creature flicked his ears and spun around to greet a group of friends made up of both monsters and humans and sauntered straight up to them with a loud welcoming gesture.

You made your way back to the table, hearing Parker laugh in the background as you received a few more compliments and by the time you sat at the table you were grinning and giggling along with Jenny who seemed to want to keep holding your hand. You were forced to shake her off of you as Undyne slyly cooed across the table while holding her drink to her lips, “so.. something about Gaster replacing your _'wifey'_ , Sunshine?”

Blushing you just laughed but Jenny cut you off as she cheered, leaning across the wood, “They're apparently official!”

Your blush worsened as you dipped your head down and held your face in your hands as the two women across from you laughed and congratulated you though Jenny just kept going.

“She tried to break the news all super dramatic, I thought she was pregnant or something-!”

“JENNY!” you shrieked with a laugh as you looked up and found Undyne burst into a fit of cackles as Alphys began to sweat nervously with a large smile on her face, your friend pushed your arm playfully as she went on.

“You'd be a good mom, I call getting to be the god parent though-”

“Hey!” Undyne spat, pointing her finger seriously across the table towards Jenny as she sneered, “I call being god mother!”

Your friend gasped, “no way, I totally deserve to be god parent of Sunspot!”

“S-sunspot?!” you heaved, turning bright red along with Alphys who was really starting to sweat now.

“Yeah-! Because you're Sun and Gaster is all.. dark and shit. Sunspot!” she beamed, proud of herself, “as best friend for longer I call dibs!”

“Dibs?!” Undyne sneered, flashing her pointed teeth as she set her glass down rather hard on the table, “Fight me for it!” the warrior cackled.

Your stomach was twisting into knotted butterflies as you choked out through your laughter, “oh my god we just became official not _married_ for fucks sake!”

“I already told you, that's why he would be your baby daddy!”

“B-baby..d-da-daddy?” Alphys stammered, turning bright red with her glasses lightly shivering on her snout from the verbiage as Jenny explained.

“It means that you just have a kid with someone you aren't married to yet! It's slang,” she giggled wildly.

“Jenny-” you tried, speaking through your palms as embarrassment swept you, “-I am literally going to die from this-”

She gasped, slapping your arm playfully, “you better not die from having his baby, you were supposed to have mine first anyways!”

Hiding your face in your hands you couldn't help but to just laugh, the thought of a white eyed little girl entering your mind as you shouted and shook your head, “I am not fit to be a parent!”

Undyne snickered wildly as she threw in, leaning across the table with Alphys sweating beside her, “that's why I should be god mother! Fuhuhu! Sunspot would get the best training from the best trainer!”

“Fine-” your friend snorted as you tried to quell your chortles, “-but I get to be god parent to the second baby!”

Alphys really began to tremble at that thought, her hands going to her flushed cheeks as she gazed at you while the other women laughed wildly. Pulling your face up from your hands you met her starry eyes with a highly nervous expression and before they could throw further teasing in your direction you slammed your hands on the table and stood, “I have to go to the bathroom-!”

With that you spun away from the table and made your escape through the throng of the shifting crowd leaving the cackling women behind as you tried to settle your flushing face though it wouldn't fade away as your mind trailed back to the Lich and his piercing white eyes. Although, it was brown eyes that followed your form down a discrete hallway, tucking out of sight.

 

In the bathroom you splashed water on your face, calming yourself down though you were smiling the entire time as you peered back up into the mirror and came face to face with your blissful reflection. There was a lot of movement in the restroom so you decided to pat dry with some paper towels and ducked out of the room into the empty hallway to head back and took a left as you became lost in your thoughts, watching the floor. You were sure as shit not ready for kids probably _ever_ but the support your friends were giving you was.. really rather nice. Hopefully now they could settle down and not be so worried with your decision to be with the scientist.

This is when your pace slowed as your expression slowly relaxed, feeling how Gaster's magic was nearly bubbling within you erratically. Bringing a hand up you placed it over your chest, a flutter pulsing through your soul at the act while your markings only flared before slowly ebbing to a dull ache. Concern grew over your features as you thought and you didn't even realize you had walked the wrong way down the hall until you blinked at the metal exit door right in front of you and sighed sheepishly to yourself. You spun around in the dark, long hallway and came face to face with Logan, startled you hopped away into the corner to try spinning around him but he merely blocked your path.

Narrowing your eyes you hissed, “what the hell are you doing?”

The man was carrying his cellphone in his hand, it lightly vibrated with a notification as he pocketed the device and cleared his throat gently, “I could ask the same of you..?”

Your lips curled into a sneer as you muttered, “what the fuck is your deal you psycho?”

“Whoa now, I just saw you run away from your friends as they were laughing at you-” he spoke gently, concern on his features as he stood before you while your expression softened up, “-I just wanted to make sure you were okay.. though when you headed towards the back exit it sent a red flag, ya know?”

“That's super fucking creepy, Logan-” you snorted, folding your arms over your racing heart, “I wouldn't just bounce on my friends into a weird back alley anyways.”

“Hey,” he breathed, his brows furrowing, “I was just looking out for you, it would be better if I took you home over having you walk around down town by yourself.”

“I don't even _know you!_ ”

“Well, you could..” he smiled genuinely which only pulled a disgusted look on your face as you shook your head and went to slide around him but he merely stepped up against the wall to block you.

“Dude.. you know I'm not interested-”

“Relax, that thing isn't around.. you can be honest with me.”

Your glare became colder as you thought about reaching for your phone in your pocket but it would be unlikely he would allow that, you'd have to try grabbing someones attention but you couldn't see around this man in the dark end of the hall. He noticed your silence as he studied your expression while he calmly spoke up, “I have a feeling it thinks it owns you-”

“My relationship is none of your fucking business-” you tried, hissing in your words as he cut you off.

“You know it's impossible for black tattoos to be UV reactive right?” his eyes narrowed, a jolt stabbing through your heart but you quickly retorted.

“You know it's impossible to come off as normal or nice when you're being a giant piece of shit?”

Logan smirked and shook his head at this, your heart really beginning to race as he took a careful step forward and spoke quietly, “we can help you-”

“We..?” you snorted, looking him up and down quickly as you just shook your head and tried to gain someones attention but you were much too tucked away in the darkness for anyone in the club to notice your call for help though it didn't stop your soul from trying.

 

***

 

This was taking too long.

The Lich sat in the pharmacy, his face in his hands as his legs trembled and magic churned out into the room to the point the shelves themselves would begin to tremble along with the lights above. He had done well to distract himself and use this raging drive to work instead of brood but now that he was waiting on the machines to do their jobs he found himself fixating again, her energy was bountiful and played in the tendrils of his magic through his flesh. His jaws were craving the delicate flavor of daisies, the scent that played off of her skin.. it seemed to be calling him.

He suddenly stopped shaking, a warbling hiss drawing into his throat as his eyes shot open and he pulled his attention upwards from his hands, pausing his breath as he focused. Her energy gave another heavy flutter before beginning to tremble, it was a faint vibration but one he noticed immediately. His knuckled digits curled into his palms as a deep growl pressed from his chest and seethed into the room, the metal beginning to tremor and clatter with the lights beginning to fully flip on and off above him wildly. He studied her energy carefully and drew his magic back into his tense form as he began to hone in on her location through listening to her soul's call.

 

***

 

“Are you the people who made that article about me online?” you hissed.

Logan gave you a sheepish smile and if it weren't for your secluded position you may not have even been intimidated as he spoke, “look-”

“No,” you snarled, taking a step forward but he remained where he was, “-get the fuck out of my way before I kick your ass.”

The man gave you a look before beginning to laugh, your glare only hardened as he chuckled and went to wipe at his eyes. You tried to take this chance to step around him but he blocked you swiftly and lowered his hands as he took a step forward and backed you against the corner once more, “shh.. Princess..”

You flinched at his words, feeling disgust well up in your throat as he leaned closer and seemed to roam your form with his eyes despite your sneer as he cooed, “just come outside with me..”

The man reached out for you and instead of screaming you just snarled and smacked his hands away though this only caused him to lunge forward and pressed his palm over your mouth while the other grabbed your arm tightly. Your eyes flung wide open as your spine slammed against the wall, your heart giving a hard jolt though you were only smothered momentarily as a heavy bass laced straight through your bones, burying into your very marrow as the man was thrown off of you and into the opposite wall with a loud thudding that rang through the hall.

Gasping you looked up to find the Lich in just his slacks and turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up, his back was to you as he slid into a crouch and slammed his fist into the mans gut to be rewarded with a choked grunt and a loud cracking of bone. The sheer force of the blow shoved the human up against the wall and took him off of his feet momentarily, spittle laced in the air as the man stared with wide eyes towards the floor while the hardened, jagged knuckles of the Lich twisted into the soft organs of his abdomen. Blood trickled into the back of Logan's throat as he coughed and couldn't regain his breath.

The scientist removed his fist with a hard jerk, a tremor warbling through the hall as you went to step forward but recoiled as the Lich then grabbed Logan by his skull and twirled around, his fangs bared with his eyes tiny white pin pricks in his sockets as he brought this man forward and smashed his face into the wall a few feet away from you. A sickening crack rang out as you heard screaming ring out at the end of the hall while Gaster merely continued to snarl, your gaze went up into his feral expression as his eyes were trained onto this human in his clutches.

Gaster could smell the sickening slight arousal of this human, the flavor stung at his gums and infuriated him to new heights. The Lich's maw began to creak as he opened his jaws further. Black strings of spit clung to his sharpened fangs, a searing heat blasting from his throat and down onto you from the cold wall. A crowd was now drawing at the entrance of the long hallway, eyes on the shadowed figures within and the monster noticed this as he slowly shifted to peer over his shoulder while keeping this man pressed flush against the cold surface beside him. The scientist's piercing white eyes bore back to the prey before him standing at the entrance of the hall, so many to choose from.. the voice of the man brought his attention back as Logan struggled to press away from the wall he was held against, his voice pained and barely audible as he spat, “y-you.. y-ou.. f-fuck-”

Angrily the scientist brought his hand back, his claws digging into this mans head as the Lich watched crimson strands of blood and spit cling to the hard wall from Logan's face as blood poured down from his broken nose and dripped down his chin. Your breath was caught in your throat, reaching out timidly as you muttered the scientist's name. This horror show kept you held captive, unable to look at the cracked face of the monster as Logan's eyes trained in on you. The man tried to reach up at the monster grasping him, clawing at his strong, tattered forearm, “w-we.. will.. k-kil-”

Gaster brought this mans face back against the wall for a reunion, another loud crack ringing out as the man let out a wheezing scream which the Lich found.. unsatisfactory, his tongue rolling behind his jaws as he pulled his arm back once more and twisted his hips into the motion to toss the badly injured human across the hall and back into the opposite wall. The force of his throw knocked Logan's feet out from under him as his back hit the wall, sending his head backward to crack against the surface which immediately silenced his distressed cries as whiplash swept his conscious mind away.

The man slumped forward and fell flat on his face in a heap in the middle of the floor, blood dripping from his broken face onto the dirty painted cement. You were simply frozen in place as the outside chaos of the club began to devolve into panic as people rushed into the hall, the Lich gave you no time to think as he brought his foot forward and swiftly kicked the pile of trash out of the way and against the emergency exit beside you. The metal rang out boldly as you flinched and recoiled away from the body and even away from Gaster as he stepped towards you, his fixation now strictly on you while a hissing inhale scorched through his throat with realization striking his soul from the scent trickling into his jaws. Daisies.. His tongue lashed along his sharp canines as his white eyes trained onto your trembling form before him yet you were busy looking towards the man on the floor.

You could hear shouting and chaos but your eyes were trained onto Logan's half lidded, mutilated expression who stared up at you lifelessly though his chest still struggled to rise and fall, a lump formed in your throat as shaking took over your spine while these cold brown eyes trained onto you.

“Knock that off back there!” a loud, gravely voice commanded as the bouncers rushed towards you both. A whimper left your throat as you found yourself purely stunned as a clawed hand grabbed your bicep rather firmly and jerked you sideways, your frame crashing into the hard chest of the Lich. The monster tightened his arms around your form, the clacking sound of heavy footsteps bolting right towards you as the scientist glanced over his shoulder with you nestled against his torso.

 

The shadows danced across his cracked, subtle features as he turned his attention to these approaching humans with stern expressions.

What lovely appetizers.. his hide quivered at such a sport as the humans that barreled towards him were rather large though still puny in his eyes, the monster brought his hand up as you tried to struggle to look around and instead firmly pressed the side of your face against the soft fabric of his shirt. The running suddenly halted as the men got a good look at the monster before them, Gaster's mouth was drawn into a high manic grin with his eyelids slowly drooping, the pin pricks of his eyes flicking between the two men. The thought was amusing to accept another challenger yet he already had his prize, her trembling body felt so sweet against his aching groin.

A blue light drew the monsters gaze upwards as the warrior rushed down the hall, an energized spear in her hand but stopped midway as Undyne gasped and sneered at what she was seeing, just as she cried out your name darkness drew in all around you. This was not a fast teleportation, the tight grip of the Lich kept your shivering body against his chest as he sent you tumbling through the void with your hair whipping at his arms and your face wildly.

 

***

 

Undyne was left panting in the hall, stunned along with the bouncers as she let her spear fizzle from her hand and quickly rushed forward beside them as her eyes trained onto the crumpled heap on the floor. The scent of blood was thick as she suddenly barked orders to the bouncers who blinked at her but followed suit anyways, her leadership was strong as she crouched before the human and hovered her hands over his battered body.

She could hear the faint wheezing of his strained breathing and while the men behind her called for an ambulance Jenny and Alphys stood nervously in the mid way of the hall, most of the patrons had left the scene as panic evolved from a few women who had apparently witnessed the scene leaving the restroom. Timidly Alphys clicked her claws together while Jenny swallowed heavily, guilt seeping into her chest as she just _knew_ the commotion involved her best friend.

The warrior was about to ask for a status report on that ambulance but Logan stirred, drawing her gaze back to him as the human coughed and sputtered. Blood trailing from his lips as he stared hazily up at the woman as he murmured, “t-the.. g-ghoul..”

Aggravation laced into her words as she spat, “what did you do to her you creep?! You wouldn't have gotten your ass beat for picking flowers.”

The human's eyes rolled back into his head as he slipped from consciousness, Undyne palmed her face with a heavy sigh and when she inhaled an odd flavor bit at her lungs. Lightly coughing the woman cleared her throat and peered around the hall, taking in the scene as blood was splattered and smeared more on one wall than the other but the scent of the Lich was.. wrong.

She stood and spun to look at Alphys who ran up to her quickly with their eyes meeting, Jenny right on her heels as the bouncers and owners kept the remaining patrons calm as they waited for paramedics while the warrior spoke.

“Can you two see about getting ahold of Sun..?”

“M-maybe h-he took her t-to the lab..?”

Jenny blinked between the two as their conversation volleyed, hardly able to keep up with them as shock settled into her mind. It wasn't long before the paramedics arrived and used this back emergency exit to discretely load up the battered body of the man and while they did so the woman got a good look at Logan's broken face. A sick feeling twisted in her gut and as they began to leave, she rushed forward towards a medic and spoke up to draw his attention, “is he going to be okay..?”

The man blinked at her and spoke seriously, “we are going to try our best, are you his girlfriend?”

“N-no..”

The man just nodded and rushed to join his crew. Left in the dark Jenny slowly turned back to Undyne and Alphys as they all took in the scene as police began to question the bouncers further into the hallway, this wasn't good.

Swiftly Jenny pulled her phone out and texted her friend, tears welling in her eyes as she typed, _'Are you okay? Where are you?'_

 


	16. The Lich's Lair (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster whisks you away where as everyone else is trying to clean up the mess he left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This is gonna be a rather intense smut scene guys, just fyi it's not super fluffy and has some non-con undertones in the middle of it.  
> Hope you guys enjoy this last part as we move forward for the next bomb to hit next week sometime. <3

A soft vibration pulsed in your pocket as you squinted and closed your eyes at the bright light of your new surroundings, turning your face further into the heated body of the Lich you groaned. Feeling a tad light headed you took your time recovering from such a hard jump, most teleportations with the scientist were instant but this had made you dizzy. As you regained your bearings a deep growl wove through the monsters chest as he kept you held against him, a hard bulge pressing into your stomach.

With a light groan you flicked your eyes open and peered outward, not really understanding what you were seeing but suddenly drew in a deep gasp as you were looking across an open tiled room, a small kitchen placed beside a broken elevator with a sitting area off to the side. You were back in the underground.

“G.. G- why..?” you muttered, your brows furrowing as you went to pull away but found the monster tightly holding you against him as he leaned down over you and began to draw in a heavy breath just above your skull.

With an irritated grunt you pushed at him, “l-let me go, talk to me G what _was_ that back there..? You didn't need to _kill_ him!”

You found your voice cracking, a tremble working into your struggles as the Lich loosened his grip enough for you to rip away as he muttered darkly, “death would hardly be an appropriate punishment.”

Gazing up into his face you found your expression becoming pained as you flung your arms out and gestured angrily at his stoic expression while you back pedaled, “sure he was creepy, G. But you can't just nearly beat someone to death-!”

“You are going into shock, my dear-”

“No shit, G!” you hollered, your voice cracking as the scent of blood seemed to be staining your palate.

Your panicked yelling, harsh movements and stressed demeanor only made his eyes dilate as your words just became noise to him while he studied your attempt to berate him. The taste of blood cooled his magic as did the massive jump back into the underground though the ache in his bones was now the at the forefront of his mind. His prize right before him.

“My dear.. let me help you relax.”

Panting lightly you just stared at him as he took a gentle step forward, outstretching his hand to you in offering. You could hardly believe this, you remained where you were as you breathed in frustration, “why did you do that, G..? Just because he touched me..? Scared me..?”

His blank expression slowly began to crack as his eyes narrowed, claws twitching, “that human stunk of arousal, my dear. Would you rather I not have corrected such abhorrent behavior?”

Blinking you let his words sink in, your eyes wide as he stepped closer and you murmured, “..he was.. g-going to..?”

“Have his way,” the monster finished for you with a growl, his magic reverberating outward from his soul and into the air.

Your skin felt cold and clammy now as the sweat allowed the cold atmosphere to sink into your flesh, lightly shivering you chewed at your bottom lip as the scientist's white eyes studied you. His claws shivering out of your sight as he brought his hands forth and rested his fingertips along your biceps while you folded your arms and cast your gaze across the room. He gently touched you, feeling your soft skin while his hunger only grew. Being so close, so painfully slow, drove that ache harder into his gut as the silence grew and the cold room began to get to you.

With a waver in your voice you cleared your throat and whispered, “he was saying something about how he thinks you are abusing me or some shit- G..” gently you brought your gaze up, tears building in your eyes as he stared down to you blankly, “I think he had a hand in writing that article, I'm getting a really bad feeling from all of this- Why won't everyone just leave me alone?!”

As you shivered from the cold the monster hummed gently, he swiftly crouched down and swept you up into his arms. Aggravated you gripped to his turtleneck as he whirled around and strode down the hall as you muttered, glaring at his neck “Sans wont drop it, I barely got the girls to let it go and now I have some detective trying to poke at me and this random guy and his brother seemingly have been stalking me or some shit-”

Another shiver seared through your spine at the brisk pace of the scientist, tucking yourself further against his scalding chest you continued bitterly while he whisked you away down the hall, growling at the fabric bunched up in your hand, “I just want it all to stop.”

“Which is why I brought you here, my darling..” he hummed, slipping into the door just before the lab to head towards his room. Another vibration and chime rung out from your pocket but you honestly just felt too exhausted at this point to care as he went on, “you need to.. rest.”

The Lich breathed out his final words rather heavily, her scent was wafting through his parted jaws and made his hide itch wildly, his slacks were so tight around his waist. The sweat that glistened against her skin covered any remaining smells of her friends, of her surroundings and even rivaled the tinge of alcohol on her words as he let himself into his dark room. The white eyes of the Lich flicked as he easily stepped up to his bed, a loud ringing of music made him pause as you groaned and dug for your phone, shifting around in his arms.

His eyes glanced down to see you bring the device up with the screen illuminating brightly in the dark room with Jenny's caller id, you ignored the call and began to send her a text. A light smirk tugging at the Lich's fangs. Before you could finish your long winded message the monster carefully set you down onto the mattress and crawled up above you, his elbow resting on the side of you while he turned his hips away while resting off to the side of your bent knees. The massive monster hovered, bridged, above your torso as he studied your expression while saliva began to build in his jaws, his tongue playing in the sticky mess coating his molars.

_'I'm fine, Logan just came at me and tried to get me to leave with him through the exit. G showed up and gave him what for.. i'm with him right now i'm just really overwhelmed and calming down i'll call you in a bit promise.'_

You didn't bother correcting your grammar as you sent the message and turned off your phone as other notification chimes rang out from the device in attempts to contact you again, “fucking christ..” you tossed the phone angrily off to the side, watching it tumble over the sheets and clatter to the floor, “I just want to disappear for like a week this shit is unbelievable..”

When he didn't respond you looked back up into the eyes of the Lich who were heavily dilated with his jaws hanging open, blinking you could hear his trembling breath as his chest heaved above you.

“..you okay, G?” you murmured as he brought his free hand up to your neck and slowly drug his sharp claws across your skin to which you shivered at, a pant brushing through the monsters jaws as he found himself staring at your exposing flesh.

The alcohol in his blood only set his veins aflame in line with his heat, unable to control himself he found his consciousness ebb and flow from his mind as his face dipped down to the marks contrasted against your skin. With this massive monster hovering his scorching body above you a light pant broke through your lips as you glanced to him and murmured, “I don't know if I can deal with this shit over and over all the time, G..”

The Lich gave a gentle nod despite his odd expression as he came closer, dipping down to the side of your face while breathing in your delicate skin. His words pressed into the side of your jaw, a tender whisper laced in his dark accent, “let me take you from here.. my darling..”

He slowly rolled his tongue from deep within his throat as his chin dipped down to press the large hole of his flat tongue against your collar bone before sensually dragging it upward over his marks, pulling a shudder from your body as you let your eyes closed and tilted your head to the side for him. His white pupils shuddered heavily, rolling into his skull as he lapped up your flesh soaked in your flowery scent with a tinge of salt biting his taste buds. The heightened senses of his predatory instinct had him pick up on the soft whimper leaving your throat while he pulled his claws down over your shoulder and arm that raised to set up on his bicep.

His name left your lips as you allowed your eyes to close, your soul feeling heavy and pained from such a stressful experience and just wanted to embrace his affections. The cold sheets below were a hard contrast to the sweltering heat hovering above your torso as you felt bony fingers dig into the hem of your jeans and panties while another unbuttoned the fabric, the soft cloth being drawn down your bent legs. You kept your thighs pressed together as the bony apparitions relieved you of the clothing before trailing back up your calves to your waist in gentle caressing.

You weren't even questioning his faster pace as you knew full well he was hot and bothered hours ago though his gentle touches were new. Deciding to reciprocate you found your hands slowly pressing down his pecs and to his abdomen that twitched at your delicate touches before you slipped your palms up underneath his turtleneck to press right against his twitching abs that were absolutely burning your skin. A bit taken back by his hot flesh you hardly noticed how the monster was hovering his jaws right above your neck, he could feel your heart beat pounding just beneath your flesh which tickled his tongue and sent his lungs into a harder panting.

Compared to him you were so small, brimming with life..

He felt a familiar stirring in his chest but it was lost to the driving force of his rut, his body beginning to naturally fall into his needs at your touches though he tried to restrain himself from acting too quickly.. he wanted to savor this. Slowly you pressed your hands upwards, feeling along his dense flesh and along those familiar raised scars peppering his body. The sheer heat from this monster's form was surprising you and forced you to move rather quickly as your hands ducked away from his flesh to grab onto his shirt and pulled it over his head. Discarding the soft fabric to the side of the large bed you found those bony hands groping up along your waist and sides which pulled a gentle smile from your lips as the Lich hovered above your neck, your body twisting and arching beneath him.

Your movements sparked at his spine, another harsh pant beating across your exposed, soaked neck as his free hand pulled down to his slacks and began to unfasten them. The pressure throbbing in his groin was nearly unbearable and your whimpering was twisting his gut into a frenzy, unable to control himself he found his fangs grazing along your sensitive markings while your hands ran up along his ribs affectionately. Pressing his tongue back against your throat his jaws closed around your quivering neck, taking in as much as he could within his mouth as he sealed the connection and drew his needy tendril along your flesh as you gasped. A gentle moan pulled from your lungs as he pressed you tightly to the mattress, his sharp teeth grazing along your soft skin as he shifted around and began to lightly suck at your flesh.

Drawing your supple meat into his tongue a deep purr rolled through his chest as he kicked off his slacks and boxers along with his shoes. He had waited long enough and now that you were in his jaws, twisting and squirming beneath him like captured prey he fully planned on taking his time enjoying this meal. Shifting to lay on his other hip, turned towards you fully, he slid an arm under your back. Propping you towards him as he remained braced up on his elbow. With his weight settled and your panting form bending to his will he brought his other hand to your waist, feeling along your soft body as he pressed his knuckled digits up under your shirt and began to expose your stomach all the way to your breasts.

His conjured hands continued to knead along your thighs though they slowly began to work inwards, gripping at your flesh as they crawled up towards your puffy folds hidden behind your tightened legs. At his teasing touches your legs relaxed and lightly parted as a gasp pulled through your throat, the Lich having begun to bite down a tad harder as you squirmed and wrapped your arms up around to his back to dig your nails into his hide. At this needy sensation a soft moan thrummed into your throat, his tongue lashing across your skin as his jaws began to gnash sensually at your flesh. Lightly chewing on you caused you to wriggle, your back arching at the tickling sensation as a smile drew deeper on your lips as you panted out his name.

Too distracted with his grip on your neck you hardly noticed the hands at your thighs until a bony, cold finger slid up through your folds to press along your slit in a teasing claw that hitched at your sensitive nub and send a jolt through your spine. Rewarded by your reaction he ordered the other apparition to press into your inner thigh, spreading your legs farther as he pinned the limb down against the sheets while this hand had a second finger join the first, testing back down to your slit with a gentle press forward.

Gasping harshly your hips twisted against the bare monster, his flesh was scalding and built a whole new wave of sweat to begin drawing up onto your skin as these cold digits motioned forward to press within your tight walls. A pant left your lips as the Lich loosened his jaws from your neck and slowly pulled away, strings of black spit wanting to cling to the both of you as he moved back. You swallowed and shuddered with a deep moan, the fingers clawing back out from your walls to hit against your sweet spot to which he soaked in with an amused smirk as you writhed.

He took in the way your body shivered beneath his drooped eyelids as he pressed the fingers back in, burying deep to the knuckle and lightly rolling forward to further stimulate and prepare you. While he couldn't feel anything with his summoned hands he took pleasure in watching your head tilt back, another moan straining from your lungs as your fingers clawed down his jagged back. With your taste staining his pallet he pulled the summoned hand away from you, leaving you empty and whimpering as you fluttered your eyelids and looked up to him to find the Lich lifting himself from beside you and slipped up between your legs. His knee caught your leg and spread it farther as he situated himself while the bony hands lifted to grab at your shirt and pulled it over your head, blocking your vision as the monster panned his gaze down your sweating, arched form hungrily.

All sense of thought left his mind as the apparitions relieved your body of clothing and even nearly ripped your bra, the straps angrily scratching your back and shoulders as it was torn from your body. In a daze you lightly panted beneath him as he kept his arm hooked around you, the other trailing to your hip to grip onto your waist with quite a bit of force as he drew his hips to align himself and pressed forward, all the while staring into your eyes as you shivered and gasped.

His shaft was much hotter than his own body, even uncomfortably so yet he didn't hesitate and nudged his hips forward as your legs hiked up onto his sides. Squirming beneath him, his shaft stretched and burned your walls as you let out a heavy pant, your hands trembling at his back as he hardly withdrew in his efforts to bury within your quivering, small body.

Staring up into his eyes you watched as his white pupils began to slowly shrink again, his jaws dripping in black spit that clung to his jagged teeth and with a gentle whimper you took his urgency as he rolled forward and with a buck of your own the both of you shuddered as he filled you to the limit and built a pressure in your lower stomach. You've seen this look before, a rabid, wild expression that sent your heart fluttering in both a gentle fear and excitement as he lowered himself further on top of you to feel your flesh grind against his as he drew back and tenderly rolled forward to draw a shuddering moan from your lungs.

The fit was tight, per usual, though the sensation was only increased with his sensitive state as a growl tumbled in his chest heavily and pressed down against your very soul as his rocking was slow, deep and rhythmic. Amidst his dominant snarls you found your eyelids fluttering at his steady force, rocking in junction with him as your breathing carried with it moans of bliss against his collar bones. Drawing your hands up you dug into the back of his neck, grabbing his attention as you tilted your head up and panted at him through the haze of the moment and connection you both shared.

His wild expression didn't disturb you as he peered down at you through his thrusting, striking just right to hitch a mewl in your throat with your jaws clenching tightly together. Intrigued the monster released your hip to fully situate himself and slid this arm up behind your head, his claws digging into the sheets below as he heavily rocked against you with his body weight. Gasping you squirmed in discomfort as a stabbing pain twisted in your gut before he brought his hips back to only repeat this motion, your jaws could only be tight for so long before a light cry choked from your throat as your fingernails clawed down his shoulders against the pain and pleasure mixing through your nerves.

He enjoyed your squirming, keeping you pinned beneath his solid form as he kept at his attempts to fully hilt within you. His lust overriding his thoughts while he fixated on your pained expressions below, your body was too small for him to try biting and grinding against at the same time. He opted to feel your struggles pinned beneath him with your legs shaking at either sides of his sharp hips, his tongue lightly heaving with his panting beating through his jaws. These hot bursts of air stinging your skin as these deep thrusts sparked electric jolts through your spine and soon made your body tremble against his tattered chest.

The Lich wanted to enjoy this, he wanted this to last as long as possible though your body could only take so much. With his weight behind each rock of his strong hips it made it neigh impossible to roll back up against him as this monster was heavy, all you could do was wriggle and twist your back as he pushed you closer and closer. Your nails dug deep into his hardened skin, tearing through his rigid scars as he snarled down to you though you couldn't see him through the moisture welling in your eyes as with each thrust he blessed you with waves of pleasure and yet gut wrenching pain.

Swallowing down the tears your head tilted back, elongating your spine as a choked cry beat from your lungs while he struck you perfectly. His name spun from your lips as electricity spiraled through your back and struck outward through your limbs, trembling heavily as your walls clutched to his forceful movements that he would not give up on. Your cries continued for quite awhile, his own head tilting upward as a soft, violet hue began to draw in on the underside of his sockets. The violent writhing and shaking of your form riled him further, your noises stroking his ego and aggression as you rode out your climax. Your fingers clawed down over his spine, attempting to shred at his large scars as you pulled your arms down his sides to his rocking hips.

The soft stinging of your clawing merely drew a light rumble from the Lich above as a form of moan, his eyes shivering in his sockets. As your bliss drew to a close, panting laboredly beneath the monster, your whimpers became pained as you shakily gripped onto his hips while groaning out, “G.. s-stop.”

At hearing this a gentle chuckle pressed through his ribs as he instead gave a hard throw forward, drawing a scream from your throat as he wedged violently to your cervix and lowered his jaws to hiss above your outcry of pain, “shhh..”

He held himself tightly against you, stilling his movements to truly feel you squirm and cry out in discomfort as you attempted to push at his hips but he was firmly planted. The pain in your stomach growing at his stubbornness as your cries devolved into panting, choked moans. Bathing in this moment his eyes shrunk to pin prick points, the violet hue of his sockets pairing well to his glistening gums as beads of drool slipped down his jawline along his chin.

Your eyes went wide as you jerked your attention up, having to crane your head back to be met with his wild expression and shuddered at the sight. Flinching you turned your head to the side as a heavy quiver took over your body, shoving at his hips uselessly as he began to gently grind against you to work this pain into a lather. The sensation was hot, stabbing and terrible as he would not ease up. Desperately you brought your shaking hands up to try shoving at his chest which only drew a heavy snarl through his throat, tumbling forth into a tremoring thunder that made your very soul quiver and recoil.

“P-please..” you choked, blinking rapidly as tears began to spill down your cheeks though he only basked in this sight. His mind was completely gone.

Tenderly he began to pull away, getting you to sigh and groan in relief as your body ached and tried to pull away from him though he merely craned his head further down over you. His twitching neck hovering above your head as he held you to his chest with his body weight nearly crushing you into the mattress despite your struggles and whimpered begging. As his shaft nearly left you and you began to feel a light sense of security wrapping around your mind you were only snapped back to reality as he plunged back within you, ramming against the back of you with such power your cries came back full force with your teeth bared and throat tearing at the effort.

The Lich above began to shudder lightly at first but then became deeper as he pulled his hips back, tears flowing down your face as you tried to get a grip and talk to him though your words trailed as you focused on this odd noise stemming from the monster which was sending chills down your spine. A wheezing, raspy beat pulled through his vocal chords as his gentle chuckles turned into full blown laughter.

He had stewed all day for this moment, fought for hours against his pained body and with you now in his grasp trembling and crumbling in his arms he could only bask in it. His hide itched with a deep, burning need of not only lust but something dark, something feral. Power. Your struggles were so much like prey, the smell of your growing fear turned the flavors at his palate sour in a biting taste that intrigued him. The Lich couldn't hear what you were saying, his consciousness being swept away to the depths of his mind as this insanity poured through his magic and laced with the oozing spittle dripping onto the sheets and side of your face from his open jaws.

Your fingertips dug into his chest, eyes wide and chest heaving to try to breathe beneath his weight. You had no choice but to try fighting him off but you couldn't control his magic, you couldn't lift him nor could you wriggle away from his embrace. His magic slipped from your grasp each time you tried to access it, the dark energy behaved erratically as it refused to obey and just whipped out into the room around you, dark shadows gliding over the walls in oily tendrils as his predatory gaze roamed your features while he continued to laugh deep within his gut. Static popped against his bared fangs as a high wheeze drove past his jaws at his harsh hitching within his diaphragm.

Trying to call out his name your efforts were only drown by another cry as he thrust back within your shaking form, your walls tighter than before from your struggle and made the monster's eyes roll back into his skull as your noises were buried beneath the thundering chuckles of the scientist. His jaws slowly drawing back together with his fangs bared to the room in a wild, manic expression with his eyelids drooped heavily from the pleasure washing through his form. A gentle hiss whispering through his clenched jaws above as he exhaled.

How sweetly, how tenderly, these flavors.. these sounds, nestled within him. Your racing heart giving him a slight experience of what it would be like to pump blood instead of magic through his veins, he reveled in the rapid beating of such a small thing pressed to his dead flesh. Squirming beneath him, hurting of his own accord yet this malice only drew his grin higher as steam billowed up from his clenched jaws and ridged, grotesquely twisted spine. Through his thrusting he could not comprehend words, they were just the mewling of his mate which had given unto him.

The squeeze, the fit of her trembling small form, graced him with a sense of pride as his dominance courted along the fresh tears slipping down her cheeks. Not even the whimpers of his name on her tongue could pierce through this intoxication dripping through his black sinew. Not even he could find words, dark rumblings tossing through his ribcage and reverberated through her sweating form below. A push, a cry. A shove, a tear. A rock, a bleeding desire cresting.

Oh, how he worshiped her with offerings of himself, his head gently rolling as the vertebra in his neck crackled. The sound popping, echoing through the room as her panicked begging wove it's poetic beauty across his sensitive hide.

He truly lost himself in the labyrinth of passion, his distance so far away yet so intimate as you were slowly drawn into a trance like state with him. His hissing, static filled moans of desire lulled your mind away against the pain while your hands slowly pressed up against his burning flesh tinging your skin a gentle pink hue as you embraced him. Whilst he struck you just right your back arched heavily, tilting your head back as a lewd moan rose into a cry from the tension building in your gut.

He kept to his word. You were taken far, far away from here as your sins danced with his in the dark room nestled within the gullet of the mountain where pain and ecstasy were one in the same.

 

 

***

“Why isn't she answering?” Jenny panted, biting her bottom lip as she stood outside of her friend's flat with her phone clutched in her hands.

“You said she sent you a text message..?” a mustached, black haired man said from over his shoulder as he stood before the door with his arms folded.

“Y-yeah.. She said she's with Gaster but I think her phone died or something it just keeps going straight to voicemail-!” the woman was becoming a little panicked.

At the club Undyne and Alphys stayed behind to give their report to the police but the main detective decided to have Jenny show her where she lived just to make sure she was okay and get her statement as well. Although, there was no one answering the door and the girl was truly beginning to worry.

The detective sighed, examining the door as he listened but heard nothing on the other side of it just as that odd skeleton popped back into existence beside the woman behind him.

“not at the lab..” he spoke, his expression exhausted as Jenny began to type something wildly on her phone again.

“Do you know where they might be?” Carl asked, looking over his shoulder and found the skeleton staring at him for a moment before shrugging.

That didn't sit well with him, the man turned and squared himself up to the monster as he spoke seriously, “I got a call earlier from a young woman working at the research facility, she reported violent behavior from WD Gaster. I believe it was not just coincidence he nearly killed that man at Club X-”

“Logan tried to kidnap my friend-!” Jenny snorted, glaring at the man as she jerkily folded her arms while clutching the device in her trembling hand, “he deserved to get beat up-”

“So in order to prevent a kidnapping he instead does one himself?”

The detectives eyes were cold yet the skeleton just lightly flicked his gaze between the two, sweat trickling down his neck.

 

***

 

“On your knees..” he purred.

Quivering heavily your mind was fogged in a daze, through the monsters violence he still managed to make you climax a second time and lay shivering, empty, below the Lich who had withdrawn from you to hover above your ragged, worn out body. A deep ache gnawed at your stomach, sweat glistening all across your naked skin as the predator above took in this sight with his jaws parted to continue breathing your intoxicating scent.

“I-.. I c-can't..” you panted, your eyes flicking closed as you felt the mattress shift beneath you. The monster braced himself back on his knees and gently ran a hand up along your trembling ribs. For some reason you found yourself flexing your sore abdomen in an attempt to turn over onto your side, his clawed hand supporting and helping you through the process as you panted.

A gentle, nurturing murmur cooed down to you, “my darling.. give unto me..”

Panting, spit coated your lips as you shakily righted yourself on all fours, your arms quaking as the Lich above you gently wrapped his arm across your chest diagonally to help hold you up while his other was a strong column beside you. Dipping his hips down he eased and ground the head of his pulsing shaft along your dripping sex until he wedged up against your slit firmly, a shudder slipping down your spine as his words continued to weave down to you, “embrace me..”

While he nudged his hips forward, pressing back into your aching walls a shaky breath carried the words from your mind, barely audible to the monster, “t-this h-hurts..”

“I know, my dear..” he cooed, dipping his face down to your neck as he eased himself forth and nestled against the back of you once more. The sensation nearly overwhelming from his previous acts of working you up to this, a word slipping from his raw throat, “breathe..”

Obeying you slowly drew in a shuddering breath, getting a moment to regain some shred of yourself from this creatures passion. You could feel his own hot breathing slipping over the back of your neck, beads of sweat trickling down your body as he eased his hips back to nudge them forward to a sensual rocking that drew a soft moan from your lungs. His motions were so tender, lulling you to acceptance as his voice continued to dance upon your skin, “that's a good girl.. submit, let me show you the eternity of you and I, my darling..”

Shivering your head rolled back up, a soft whimper pressing through your parted lips with your eyes still closed. The Lich gently pressed his brow to the side of your head, his bared teeth hovering above your flushed skin while he thrust through your body a tad harder as his back began to twinge and tense. His breath caressed your flesh as he struck through your sore walls just so and sent a hard jolt through your quivering form.

Focusing on his breathing you found your eyelids flutter open, glancing up from under your wet eyelashes to catch the sultry gaze of the monster. His pin prick white eyes focusing in on yours with a deep violet color rimming the undersides of his sockets while his eyelids drooped sleepily, this feigned relaxation helped ease your tense body and allowed him to move more freely through your slick walls lightly coated in acidic black tar from his own build up.

The Lich stared into your eyes, noticing how your tears glistened upon your cheeks though no new strands refreshed the drying lines. Slowly he slid his arm down to your stomach, his thrusts becoming more urgent. His lustful need overrode his indulgence as his throbbing shaft kneaded through your aching walls, your soft whimpers sung sweetly to his core which was devouring your souls energy at an alarming rate.

You hardly noticed this, too entranced by the heaving of his chest against your back as he thrust through you. Eventually your arms grew too tired to keep you held up, his repetitive motions began to strike at a deep, internal itch that craved more of him. The Lich gently hummed as you eased down onto your chest with your ass still held up from his strong arm, his hips rolling and grinding into your cervix as your body fully elongated beneath him. This position was easier on you, the twisting pain in your gut tolerable from how used to it you had gotten and now it only made you gasp or groan when he struck against you forcefully.

The shadows on the wall began to twist and lash at one another violently as the scientist's pace drove into you with his weight, slipping down onto his elbow so he fully hovered above your trembling body while he thrust with an urgent need. He craved your squeals, your convulsing body and the sickly stench of sex staining his sheets.

A gasp shook through your chest as the monster began to snarl viciously above you, his claws tearing through the heavy comforter and into the mattress itself as you shakily reached a hand out and slipped it over the top of his own. The base of your palm falling into the hole in his hand yet your small fingers managed to dip between his scalding digits as you panted and groaned heavily, this display made his sockets twitch as you grabbed onto him tightly and panted.

His snarl hitched higher as a passionate roll of his hips sent a stab through your stomach but you merely breathed through the pain, grinding your hips back along with him to meet his motions submissively. His eyes began to roll in his skull at this rapid pacing as you moaned his name. Your soul giving a hard beat, flooding the both of you with energy that stirred a warmth in your chest for him while he felt a tightening in his stomach as he drove himself forward again and again with his haunches tensing. With each ram forward he gained a little bit more from your tight body, nearly hilting himself. He drew in a shaky breath as you cried out his name and clung to his hand as you shoved yourself back, bracing yourself against the sheets as he gave a final thrust.

A thundering warble reverberated through the Lich as he released his tension, his lust and passion, his body giving a hard shudder. The underside of his shaft pulsed while his abdomen tightly pinned against your ass and nethers as he poured his acidic seed within you in smothering ropes that stung mercilessly, a new wave of tears slipping from your eyes as light trembles shook through your form. He had tipped you to a third climax and while it wasn't as hard as the previous ones it was just enough pleasure to disguise the searing pain in your stomach before that sensation was burned away to a deep, aching throb.

The monster drew in a hitching, dark snarl into his chest as his magic lashed out across the room while an intense high filled his senses and made his head spin. He was unable to focus on anything besides your scent, the tight fit of your body around him and the ebbing fire smoldering into his marrow. He nudged his hips through you a few more times before he stilled his motions to firmly pin himself to you, dribbles of black sludge clutching to the both of you though it still slipped from your aching folds and clung to your coated thighs.

Panting, exhausted and completely spent you let your eyelids close as you rested the side of your face to the cool sheets, your hand trembling as you held fast to the Lich. His knuckles shifted oddly beneath your palm as he was lost to the moment, hardly even noticing how close to passing out you were as the minutes ticked by. His inner fire slowly cooled to hot embers instead of the inferno it had been, the strength of his magic ebbed as it came back into his control though instinct was still strong in his soul. Breathing in the scent of the room, your battered body, his claimed territory, allowed him to start relaxing.

Drawing himself from you a gush of his essence slipped down along your thighs as he dropped his arm and carefully set your body down to the sheets as a shiver took over your form. A pant pressed through his closing jaws as he pulled his attention down to your face and reached his hand up to slip his clawed fingers through your hair to swipe the damp strands behind your ear to get a look at your expression. He found himself oddly staring, a shiver in his chest urging his fingers to smear the light traces of wetness from your cheeks while your eyelids fluttered and you murmured something incoherent.

Still coming down from his high he shifted his hips over and set himself down onto the mattress beside you, his arm slipping under your ribs as his other hand went to your chest and carefully rolled you onto your side as he curled his massive body against your shivering body. A gentle whimper rode on your desperate attempts to catch your breath, your mind a haze as his seed bit and nipped at your skin yet left your insides completely numb from the intense pain you had endured, extinguishing the hypersensitivity within your body.

Gently his voice purred down to you, his face resting against the side of your cheek as he murmured, static popping loudly on his syllables, “my dear.. are you still in pain..?”

Lightly you shook your head, too tired to open your eyes or respond as he hummed and closed his eyes to draw in a gentle breath with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. You smelt just like him now, a rumbling in his chest pressed into your body as he lied with you, comforting your trembling form with his gentle affections and sweet words he would occasionally slip into your ear with a whisper until the world left you, blanketing your mind in the darkness of sleep.

 

The Lich allowed you to rest, his jaws having fully closed as he ducked his jawline into his shoulder to smear the remnants of his thick drool from his face. His motions couldn't disturb you now, his exuberance put you to bed and you would be asleep for some time. Laying with you was enjoyable to the monster, breathing in your scent he marinated on the gentle puffs of air escaping your tired throat. This row had satisfied him, for now. Though he wasn't tired just yet, he gave your form another glance over before carefully slipping his arms from around you to slip off of the bed. Just as you began to whimper from his departure the monster had conjured hands grab the edge of the comforter and folded it over your shivering body.

The heat that had sunk into the sheets from the monster wrapped around you and settled your unconscious protests, lulling you into a calm stillness. Gaster stepped lightly, his muscles feeling relaxed and loose from how tightly they had been wound all day. He had fed enough from the girl's energy for tonight, his magic pulling back from her soul to allow an easier recovery but he knew she would need assistance when she woke. A gentle huff left his jaws, he would have preferred to keep her scent smeared along his chest but decided against it as he ducked into the bathroom to clean up.

After his brief shower the scientist simply drew on a pair of dark jeans and slipped into his black zip up, his flesh feeling much too hot to bear being caged in another turtleneck. Besides, he wouldn't be gone long. The Lich moved well in utter darkness, his eyes flicking over to sleeping woman in his bed, her trembling had ceased yet her soul was dim. Lightly pulling his jaw side to side the monster rolled his neck to stretch his muscles and with a hard snort he turned, stepping into the void and left her safely tucked away from the world.

 

Gaster landed back in the lab, these large jumps eating into his excessive amount of energy which the scientist was thankful for. He always preferred to show in his office, away from the noise of the staff, but this would give him a bit of a walk. He left the office lights turned off as he placed his hands in his pockets and strode forward through the double doors back to the hallway, dark violet still tinged underneath his eyes on his bored expression as he made his way to the lobby.

He could still taste her, his skin seeming to itch for her as he lazily prodded the back of his teeth with his twisting tongue. The Lich was still coming down from his predatory high, leaving him somewhat dizzy as he strode through the large room to the opposite halls towards the pharmacy once more. With his magic under control the others in the facility were not given a warning to his approach but his ashen scent drew their gazes up as he passed them as if they were not even there, including the stoat who blinked and turned to watch him walk away.

Claire's nose lightly twitched as she smelt this monster, his scent was heavy and burned her lungs like smoke but she couldn't help but notice the tinge of color to the undersides of his sockets. It may not have been noticeable to anyone else but she was too observant. Tentatively she began to follow on after the monster who took no notice of her trailing behind him, despite the desperate looks her technicians threw her way.

 

***

Sans was trying to not let his irritation show as this detective kept trying to push his buttons in the hallway He had already filled Toriel on what happened and she didn't seem too concerned but she was probably keeping her voice down to prevent waking the kids up. Sun's apartment door was wide open, Jenny in the living room, looking out of the window as she spoke into her cellphone and left the skeleton to handle this pushy man one on one in the hall. He already had the skeleton unlock the door and when they found nothing besides the Lich's lab coat and a gray cat it seemed this detective just moved onto trying to find another lead.

“You must know more about him,” the detective continued, his voice firm, “I have never seen a monster as violent, aggressive, or possessive as WD Gaster-”

Sans lightly chuckled, his hands in his jacket pockets as he drawled, “tibia-onest with you, pal-” the man's left eye twitched, “i'm not so sure you want me to throw ya bone about this guy.”

“And why is that?” Mr. Briggs growled, keeping his gaze unwavering.

“you met him,” the skeleton shrugged, “ain't no more bones about it.”

“This is not a joke,” the man strained, his brows furrowing while his eyes narrowed, “we have a missing person on our hands.”

“she can handle it,” his grin deepened while his eyelids drooped farther at the aggravation he was now causing the detective, “her words, not mine.”

They both stared at each other for a few moments as Carl fought his inner anger at the situation just as Jenny hung up and walked back towards them with a sigh, “sorry about that, I can help out as long as you need sir-,” she stopped beside the skeleton as his attention turned towards her, “-I just had to let my boyfriend know what was going on, he's worried too.”

Sans held back a snort, Jake was faker than the color of the detectives hair who began spitting at him once more, “I feel it's our best bet to check the research facility again, our reports show he is nearly always working-”

“pal, i just came from there-”

“Take me with you this time then,” the man snorted, “since you're in such a joking mood why don't you humor me?”

The skeleton's sockets lightly twitched but he did pull a hand from his pocket while the detective spoke to Jenny, “why don't you wait here and call me if she returns?”

The woman nodded as Chip mewled in the background, sitting on the coffee table to peer out into the hallway curiously as the detective turned his attention back to the skeleton's extended hand. The man firmly took hold of his bony palm and was gone in an instant.

Jenny sighed, rubbing her face as she slowly closed the door to her friends flat while her phone buzzed in her hand. Making her way to the couch she plopped down onto the cushions with Chip sniffing the air towards her as she brought up her messenger and began to text her boyfriend idly, discomfort and worry weighing on her mind.

 

***

_'They still can't find her, Sans is checking the research lab again. I'm not worried about Gaster I just want to make sure my best friend is okay after that guy tried grabbing, or doing whatever, to her.. ya know?'_

Amber eyes trailed over the message as he sat in the waiting room of the hospital beside a young, shaggy haired boy who seemed to be staring into space. It was supposed to be simple, the perfect set up, but they couldn't ever work on spontaneity again.. the ghoul was much too possessive, much too fast.. much too aggressive. They'd have to stick to the original plan.

As Jake texted the woman back he heard Mike murmur beside him, “why didn't Dennis come..?”

The man let out a soft exhale as he sent his words and glanced up beside him to the boy who seemed lost in thought as he gently spoke, “he is coming along with Jared, just try to relax Michael.”

Just as the boy fell silent he suddenly jumped up, Jake's attention drawing up to find the doctor walking towards them and nodded. Standing up the man followed behind the doctor, being led to a room with the unconscious form of Logan laying on the hospital bed hooked up to an IV drip. Bandages covered most of his face along with an oxygen mask. Mike rushed forward to his bedside, taking in his brother's pained expression with blood caked on his face and in his hair, the doctor quietly turned to Jake.

He was an older man but very professional as he said, “we did all we could, he had some internal bleeding and trauma but I feel we were able to stop it in time. As for his skull he has fractured, broken sockets and his jaw was also effected by the blunt force injury. We are.. unsure if there is any brain damage from the whiplash but we will know when he wakes up.”

Blinking away the moisture from his eyes Jake turned his attention to the brothers, Mike's hands clutching to the bedside railing with his knuckles turning white while the man continued on, “are you sure you do not wish to press charges..?”

Jake lightly nodded, swallowing dryly. If the ghoul did this to Logan in seconds what had he done to Dennis..?

“We'll just see how he is when he wakes up..” he murmured.

What would the cops do anyways, slap that monster on the wrist just because it was the royal scientist? No. Revenge was the ultimate form of Justice and as he studied the boy before him he was glad to see this finally sink in, their eyes met and equally narrowed with purpose.

 

***

The Lich let himself into the pharmacy, the smell of honey trailing after him though he gave the stoat no acknowledgment as he went to check on his concoction deep within the room. The woman carefully slipped inside just before the doors clicked shut, her beady black eyes focusing in on his form as he began to bottle his crafted medicine.

Unsure of herself Claire lightly stepped forward, not catching the black moth that landed on her shoulder blade as the scientist spoke, his voice heavy and creaking as he enunciated, “is there a reason you are stalking me?”

Blinking wildly the woman spoke with a slight stutter from nervousness, not wanting to get too close to the highly pent up monster, “y-you can speak English..?”

“No,” he replied, the light pattering of the moth on her shoulder made the stoat jump in surprise but she quickly gathered herself as she adjusted her glasses back on her snout as she watched the bug flick it's wings and nestle atop her shoulder.

Ah, he was using magic to communicate.. though his voice still unnerved the woman she carefully stepped forward a bit and watched as he finished sealing away his concoction into a few personal bottles. Silence washed through the room as the Lich pocketed the medicine, the light clinking of glass the only sign of life in the room as he slowly turned and focused his attention over his shoulder towards the woman who drew in a breath.

Sheepishly she smiled, having forgot he asked her a question and the way he was staring at her with condescension made her shift on her feet as she spoke, “I-i just wanted to.. see if you are feeling all right, Doctor.”

He didn't reply, instead he began to walk towards her and made her back up though he merely just passed her by and opened the door to leave. Blinking wildly at his odd behavior she swiftly padded after him and came up to walk beside him, matching his pace as she glanced up at him and carefully worded, “t-they are looking for you-”

His white pupils flicked down to the stoat as they continued to walk, his face completely blank against the deep purple resting finely beneath his sockets.

Catching his expression she took that as a sign to continue, “I-i heard what happened from Sans.. p-perhaps if you would confide in me your monster type I could help prescribe something for your aggres-”

“What monster type are you, Claire Medina?”

She was taken off guard by that, she had no idea how he knew her full name but she quickly replied, “I-i'm a stoat..?”

He knew.

Silence fell over the two as they headed towards the lobby, she figured he was going to grab a few more of the magical syringes but his odd question rattled her brain. She was trying to figure out why he asked her that yet when it finally clicked she really felt stupid, he was just fucking with her.

“I merely ask, Doctor,” she spoke, falling silent as they passed by an open room with one of her technicians staring at them as they passed by. Once out of ear shot she spoke again though the scientist wasn't looking at her, “because I am aware of your.. current state.”

He was quiet, not even giving her a glance as they approached the large open room as she went on, “you see, I was a.. mid-wife for some time in New Home..”

That earned her an odd glance, she sheepishly explained herself, “I kn-know all the tricks and monster physiology pertaining to reproduction, while I'm not so familiar with humans I.. I assume that is what the medicine is for.. right?”

Hmn. How bold.

“My business is none of your concern,” he replied flatly as they broke the threshold into the room and came to a stop as they were met with the surprised gaze of the detective while Sans stood lazily beside him.

The scientist drew in a deep breath, his gaze focusing on the detective as he spat and strode towards them, “where have you taken the girl?”

Claire awkwardly brought her hands up together, blinking at the man as he came right up to the both of them though Sans just stayed back and watched the scene unfold. The multiple jumps had made him sleepy.

Gaster remained silent as the man tilted his chin up to stare him right in the eyes as he growled, “what is..” he gestured to his clothes then lingered on the violet hue staining beneath his sockets, “all of this?”

Slowly the Lich's sockets began to narrow, the jerky movements of the detective making him focus in on the man as he exhaled to only draw in a deep breath through his barely parted jaws. This human tasted of anger, of sweat and the rapid motions he was making stirred his magic. The dark force churned against his soul to weigh on the area around him, the stoat lightly stepped away at the pressure though the human only began to get goosebumps up on his arms and neck.

Claire carefully spoke up through her discomfort, drawing the detectives attention, “sir, the doctor is in after hours.. he can be casual.”

“Casually kidnapping women after putting someone in the damn hospital- what's wrong with your eyes?” the man snapped.

The grin on Sans' face deepened, his slouching figure off in the background as the scientist kept his hardened gaze on the man flailing about while Oliver lightly scuttled over the stoat's lab coat.

Gaster merely just stared at the detective as he thought to himself, his magic itching beneath his pelt. Such a.. challenging tone, the scientist began to tense and relax his jaw in a slow cycle as if gauging how soft fleshed this man was.

Clearing her throat the woman dropped her hands and adjusted her glasses, a professional air lacing her words, “personal appearances aside..” the man turned his focus on her, clearly angry though she remained calm, “I'm sure whatever happened to that human was deserved-”

“That man may have permanent brain damage and needs to undergo many surgeries and facial reconstruction, is that truly deserved for mere flirtation?!”

The Lich kept his stoic expression, not bothering to speak to this detective as Claire was doing a fine job of it for him. Besides, he hardly was listening anyways. The Lich's claws twitched in his pockets, catching on the fabric as they continued to converse unaware of the true state of the monster.

“Now Mr. Briggs, that kind of accusation is baseless-”

“I have half a mind to arrest you,” the detective growled, peering back up at Gaster who kept his fixation strong. His tongue flicking against the backs of his canines, getting a hint of his mate's flavors staining his spit, her fear, her ecstasy.. it tickled him. It made his body rigid. His spine was clearly visible through the thin fabric of his zip up, the column shifting as his muscles pulled at his frame though the scene went unnoticed to the beings before him. Not even the monster at his side could smell his excitement beginning to swell as she spoke.

“They are pressing charges..?” the stoat asked, her ears flicking.

The man huffed through his teeth, refusing to look at the woman as he became locked in a staring match with the scientist who seemed bored on the surface but below a twisting darkness was edging forth.

“No,” Carl retorted, “but kidnapping is still on the table-”

“You do know that.. they are.. together, right?” she pointed out, “I don't blame her for wanting to escape after such an ordeal, don't you agree? Or was this human in the hospital the only victim?”

Her eyes began to narrow, the fur on her neck fluffing up as she stared into the man's face trying to gather his attention and it eventually worked. With a heavy sigh he turned his focus to the stoat and replied, “of course not, though we do need her account and no one can get ahold of her-” Carl brought his gaze back up to the Lich, “-is that _your_ doing?”

Refusing to speak the scientist merely observed his own body starting to shake his placation to fixate on the human before him, his eyes slowly dilating and the detective noticed as his expression was taken over with confusion. This intrigued the Lich, some inner itch beginning to wonder how fragile.. how loyal to life this human truly was. The human at that loud building had been no match, no sport.. but the one before him was brimming with energy through a blood red, determined, soul. Gaster found his jaws clenching together as he fought with his body to not break his flat expression, his fangs wanting to greet the sky and fill his lungs with cold air yet he refrained.

This inner struggle wasn't truly noticeable to anyone besides Sans who kept his distance, he could see from here the light white hue of the Lich's soul being shadowed by deep, oily tendrils beginning to twist and writhe within him. Sweat began to bead down the skeleton's rib cage as this monsters LV made itself known, the amount higher.. much higher.. than it had been before the accident. He was no longer a skeleton monster, he was beyond anything Sans had originally thought which was merely a melted semblance of his former self. Instead, Gaster was transformed. He hadn't wanted to believe in such a folktale.. in his Father's words in the underground.. but he was beginning to believe them and it wasn't sitting well in his figurative guts.

The Lich's magic began to bleed from his body, the stoat scrunching her nose at the scent and squinted through the discomfort it brought to her. As the detective stared at him the scientist found his shoulders oddly hunching, his collarbones, ribs and hips jutted in an awkward fashion while his chin lowered. The edges of his brow cast a gentle shadow over his eyes, the purple hue below seeming to even glow while his white pupils fully dilated at the prey before him. A deep reverberation thrummed through the monsters core, tickling along his bleeding magic as this display started to draw sweat on the detectives forehead.

The words left the man in a murmur, “what even..”

Claire gingerly spoke up though it wouldn't break either of the men away from each other, “I think it is best to just return tomorrow afternoon, detective.”

Carl pointed up to the monster which he genuinely did not care for. The man growled as he focused on the stoat behind her red framed glasses, “is he on drugs..?”

Her face scrunched as she tried to not laugh, her smile deepening into her soft, white cheeks as she shook her head and gently lifted a hand as she explained, “the color is simply a reaction to.. stress. The quiet nature of Doctor Gaster is normal.”

“Hardly, this entire situation is fishy and I don't trust that fragile woman in the hands of such a violent, possessive monster-!”

A shaky inhale warbled through the Lich's throat at such loud inflections, this new scent beginning to replace the taste of the woman back in his bed. Sans slowly began to ball his hands into fists, feeling his own magic tense through him as he eyed the scene, uncertain of what he was witnessing. The massive monster was always so composed.. but the vibe emanating from him was beyond dark. It smelt of.. death.

“Sun is perfectly fine,” Claire tried but the detective was surely fired up now.

At the mention of her name Gaster felt a light vibration in his chest, his train of thought floating off to the noises of the girl. His tongue idly rolled in his jaws as he straightened himself up, his gaze flicking to the side as he reflected on his claim of her earlier though a troubled thought sprang to mind, he couldn't taste her anymore. Her mild flavors had now been replaced with the natural scent of the older human before him, with a light tilt of his chin he ignored the pressing conversation as he weighed his options just in the way a child would choose between sweets. Excitement was excitement.. but which did he prefer..?

He didn't notice the skeleton's brow pulling together in confusion, studying the odd behavior of the scientist as his digits twitched within his pockets and tapped his claws against the glass bottles tucked away. The light ' _tinking'_ of his claws suddenly snapped him from this new fixation, reminding him what he was doing originally and confirmed his decision. He already got to flex his strength tonight, there was no point in riling himself again when she could not accommodate him properly for another go so soon. The two continued to speak back and forth, the scientist completely tuning them out as he made a few mental checks to make sure he wouldn't have to come back for any other materials.

He perused his stock internally, asking himself if he still had syringes in his old lab.. No, he had removed those as he remembered using his old collection on that young human prior. It was possible she would be fine with the larger set, she had acclimated to larger.. ' _sensations'_ rather well after all. This thought stirred his magic against his soul as he inhaled and slowly let it out, his mind refocusing on the girl that awaited his return.

The detective cut himself off as the Lich suddenly rounded him, stepping with finesse as he made his way back across the lobby to stride on by Sans who nervously turned to watch him go without a word.

 _'Submission.. finally'_ , Gaster mused internally, his dark presence swirling around him and even made the skeleton's eye sockets sore as his magic seemingly wanted to tangle in his bones. Unnerved Sans took a few steps back and away from the passing monster as he strode down the corridor, a vibration humming through his chest as he perused the doors in a casual way. Once he had his needles he could go back and coat his tongue in her sickly sweet flavors, the thought brought an eerie smile to his face.

The detective snarled and called after him but the Lich merely raised a hand over his shoulder with his index finger raised to the ceiling, enjoying how he felt the determined soul shudder far behind him. He was merely giving himself foreplay to rile such a strong soul type.. though he had another to play with, another to guard and savor. One that quivered at his touch and fed him strength, this one truly called his fancy over the determined soul by leagues.

Utterly speechless the detective could only stare after the monster while Claire pulled a hand up to her lips, trying to not laugh and even Sans had to catch himself to hold his lazy expression as he looked back to Carl and shrugged his shoulders. He played off his unrest well, feeling colder than before after the Lich had passed him by and for once in his life words could not come to him. No joke, no sarcastic remark nor witty rebuttal would find him as his thoughts trained in on discovery. What would it mean.. if he truly was a Lord of the Dead?

Gaster let himself into an exam room and slid inside, the door clicking shut behind him as he summoned a pair of hands to open up the same cabinet as before and pilfered a few needles.. perhaps one too many but what did it matter, it was best to carry more than he needed rather than less. It would be foolish to come back in this state, he hardly had shaken himself out of instinct and yet his mind was still not whole.

Through his lidded gaze he examined the sharp metal of the needles, how they glinted in the light and it made his smile all the deeper. It was as if a mother was observing her babe, the sentiment didn't last long as he brought the bony hand towards him and held out his own hand to slowly draw the bundle of tools against his palm. He was sure to grip them firmly as he waved away his apparitions and gathered his magic back into his form, how tiresome to constantly chase his own power.. it was as if it wanted to cling to the skeleton, wrap around his cold bones and dig into his soul yet there were more pressing matters at hand.

With his destination set the Lich threw himself through the void to land back in his room, the effort of such a large jump ate into his brimming magic and cleared his head enough to walk to the nightstand and carefully drop his tools there. The glass bottles lightly clanking against the wood as he emptied his pockets and stripped down to his bare hide, with a slow, deep inhale the monster ran a hand up along his neck and stretched his spine in a gentle twist. With his lungs filled and body elongated the bones of his form truly protruded through his muscles, his ribs jutting from his broad chest down to the harsh hip bones slicing up through his pelt.

“G..?”

He released his inhale slowly, a rumbling filling his chest as his eyes drew back towards the bed to find you sitting up and staring at him sleepily. The Lich wasn't expecting this, he stepped towards the bed as you lightly lifted a hand and gestured towards your eyes, “you've got some.. color.”

Softly nodding the monster crawled up onto the sheets as you tossed the comforter off of your shivering, sore form and clambered beneath it along with him. He was quick about taking you into his arms, feeling the light tremors cascading through your spine and legs as he enveloped you in his warmth while he softly articulated, “my dear, you should be at rest.”

“I was worried..” you murmured, tucking your arms up to your chest as he held you close and purred gently, his face dipping down carefully to your neck as you spoke softly, “you got a little.. crazy there..”

Static popped at his fangs as he whispered, “nothing to fret, darling.. ” he paused to breath in your gentle scent, mixing well with his own musk that he marked you with, “did I scare you..?”

Gently chewing at the inside of your cheek you thought for a moment but shook your head, a light tug pulled at the corner of his mouth at your white lie while he purred, “be at peace, my dear.. you are safe with me, despite my fervor.”

“I know..” the words left you easily, like silk, as you nestled into his chest and relaxed. The heat his body gave off eased your tender aches though you weren't one to just drop a subject as you reminded him, “so, what's with your eyes..?”

“It is a.. common side effect of illustrious passion, my darling.”

A soft giggle worked through your chest, your eyes closing as he flexed his arms and drew you closer before settling down into the sheets with you. His head lifting so that he could rest it on the pillows above while you just were propped up on his strong bicep, the light scars having ripped his skin didn't really bother you all that much anymore as you murmured, “like a sex high..?”

“If you wish to put it in such a way.”

Silence fell over the both of you, the medicine forgotten on the nightstand while the scientist basked in his work. The gentle shivers of your body beginning to ebb and just as he was beginning to listen to your slow, rhythmic breathing you managed to utter, “if you wish to put it in your mom in such a way.”

The monster blinked, furrowing his brow as you just snorted with a large grin plastered over your lips. It took him a moment to process what you said was a joke, he really only understood as the seconds went on and you began to truly giggle. An amused scoff pushed through his throat as he dipped his face down towards the top of your head, an odd warmth spreading in his chest that even drove against his thick magic as he muttered, “dreadful.”

With a final, soft breath the worlds tumbled from your mind without really thinking about it, “shut up, you love me.”

Oddly his brow furrowed deeper, the drive of his heat giving way to that word again. Your delicate breath brushing over the large, black ridge in his chest.

What did level of violence have to do with any of this..? Sure he had a vast pool of this statistic, it was possible it was the driving force behind his idiosyncrasies but how would it involve the woman laying in his arms? Mayhaps it was just the rambling of an exhausted girl to which he eventually ended up accepting as his eyelids closed, allowing his magic to flow freely from his body to twist through the dark room with abandon. Dancing in the yellow glow of her vibrant, revitalized soul.

 

 


	17. Wasting Time (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone deals with the morning after.  
> Nobody seems happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm due for another bomb but this chapter gave me a bit of trouble as is Chapter 18.  
> I'm back on track but because of that writers block i'm a few days behind. To make it up to you guys I lopped off a few pages of chapter 18 and bundled them into this one so you guys get a good chunk of content tonight to help tide you over until the others are ready to be uploaded as well.  
> Thank you guys for your patience, enjoy!

You weren't sure what time it was or even what day it was, the only thing you knew for certain is that you were sore. Incredibly, sore.

Flexing your muscles to stretch took enough effort that a string of whimpers strained through your throat as you reached out with both arms and legs in an attempt to elongate, to pop and crack your spine, but the process took longer than you were used to. Not yet ready to open your eyes you noticed the empty spaces around your body and managed to roll over onto your back, hearing a soft, deep humming.

Taking a moment to stir your mind against the ache in the pit of your stomach you managed to flick open your eyelids and were met with the dimly lit room, everything hued in a deep blue. Your gaze dropped off to the side, taking in the Lich's back as he sat on the edge of the bed and seemed to be doing something as the muscles in his shoulders lightly bent and twisted beneath his hardened, tattered hide. His spine jutting at an odd angle with the vertebra sharp and twitching.

With a light moan you struggled up onto your side, struggling to push yourself up from the mattress as you swept the hair from your face and murmured, “G..? Shit, what time even is it right now?”

“Mid-morning, my dear.”

Sighing against the pains in your form you let your hand fall from your face as your vision cleared, shaking off the drowsy haze clouding your mind as you watched him silently for a moment before he then moved his arm over to the nightstand and set something down. Blinking you watched his hand leave the wood, your eyes widening at the sight of an empty syringe.

“What are you.. doing?”

He didn't respond, having picked something else up from the table and was working with his hands. A tad disturbed you pulled yourself closer, trailing your fingertips along the sharp ridges of his spine that shuddered at your touch. Reeling your hand away you heard him growl, deep within his chest that reverberated into the room, his movements stilling as silence then drew in around the both of you.

Blinking you just held your arm in the air, bent towards you at this reaction as he began to gently move his hands once more before releasing a deep breath. You gently bit at your bottom lip, studying him as he set something off on the nightstand and shifted to turn towards you, catching his half lidded, exhausted expression with deep violet lining the undersides of his sockets. Being so caught up in his eyes you hadn't noticed him reaching out for your raised arm, his claws seeming to be twitching as he carefully gripped at your forearm and brought it out towards him.

Curiously you scrunched your brows, the movement of your body highly uncomfortable from your sore muscles but as you let your gaze fall you landed upon the sight of a rather large needle in his other hand and gasped. Trying to pull your arm away he merely just held his grip on you, keeping your arm outstretched yet he didn't approach your clammy, shivering flesh with the syringe just yet as he studied your expression.

“Remain submissive,” he ordered, his voice flat yet eerily deep.

Blinking wildly you just leaned back from him, your body weight pulling at your arm that simply would not budge as your heart began to race, “G what the fuck are you doing? L-let go!”

The Lich exhaled heavily, his jaws slowly beginning to part while his expression remained cold, “it is for your pain.”

You met his gaze, feeling a tinge of fear at how intense he has been for the past few days but this was becoming the worst of it for you, “I-i'm fine.. I d-don't need th-that-!”

Fear turned into a stubborn anger as your focus dropped to the approaching needle, tugging at your arm but he merely held you still as his eyes trailed down your naked body but ended up on the crook of your arm looking for the right vein. With a shudder from your soul you felt that cold metal approaching and instantly reacted, throwing your other hand up to snatch up his wrist and clung to him desperately while shakily keeping yourself up.

“What do you not understand about the word 'no'?!” you snarled, his eyes flicking up to your expression but lingered on your bared canines, his sockets beginning to narrow at your defiance.

“Give unto me-” he enunciated, the syllables popping and warbling oddly as his magic gripped around your soul, making your eyelids heavy. You kept your grip tight on his wrist as he brought his hand forward, dipping the point towards your arm as he wove his words, “let me ease your burdens.”

A harsh shiver tumbled down your spine, closing your eyes and turning your head to the side with a whimper as he stuck the point into your arm carefully, skillfully, yet your shaking limbs registered the foreign material and made your heart race. Biting onto your lip you whined, needles had always been a terrible experience for you. While he pushed on the plunger you felt him move closer, his body heat radiating down to you as he gently, tenderly shushed you. The odd intimacy of the moment took your mind away from the odd, cooling sensation traveling through your arm.

It was over as quickly as it started, the metal drawing away as he placed his thumb over the puncture and pressed down over it, a trickle of blood slipping down your skin as you continued to shake. Carefully the monster handed the used needle to a bony apparition before slipping up further next to you, shaking your grip off of him easily to draw his hand out around your back. He mindfully set his arm around your form, pulling you up against his chest as he kept a good grip on your arm to ebb the bleeding.

Whatever he gave you worked pretty quickly, the tension and anxiety having welled in your chest started to ebb away as you gave up and let yourself rest against him. While bending his knee up from the sheets he pressed back against the headboard with you tucked in his arm, letting out a deep, rumbling breath. The medicine he had given himself helped to keep him still as you absorbed his body heat and fluttered your eyelids open, too stubborn to succumb back into sleep just yet.

Your determination seemed to surprise the Lich as he eyed you curiously, his expression rather lax as you murmured, “I would have been fine..”

He was silent. You released a huff, much like a pout, and drew your gaze up to him to look him straight in the eye. He kept a firm hold on your arm, the pulse of your heart beat pounding against his thumb, yet you still could move the other. Slowly you moved your free hand up his chest, still lightly shaking from the effort against your screaming sides and gut as you allowed your fingertips to trail up the side of his hard, warm face.

“What's going on with you, G..?”

He watched as your pupils shifted around his features, eventually landing on the violet hue gracing his sockets to which you carefully swiped your thumb over in a gentle caress. He flinched at your touch but eased back down as you repeated the motion and held his gaze.

Gaster didn't feel like talking, your touches carried your gentle scent to his jaws and began to stir his bones deeper than before yet the sedative kept his veins relatively cool.. he wouldn't lose himself again just yet.

“Sun to G, what is your status..? Over-” you lightly smiled, the ache in your body subsiding as your muscles unwound and felt lighter though this sensation only made you sleepy. You fought the urge to succumb as you stared at him, not willing to let him weasel out of this.

“Why don't you rest, my dear..?” he purred, earning a snort from you as you cupped the side of his face and stretched up along his chest though he wouldn't lean down to meet you. His eyes began to dilate the closer you became, the words tumbling from your lips as you narrowed your eyes.

“Because you want me to and it's irritating you that I'm refusing,” his eyes narrowed at that as you continued, “it's _your_ turn to comply with _me._ ”

He let out a grumble, knowing that you would stick to your prodding even after your nap the pain killers would coax you into. His voice was raspy, heavy and sparked oddly as he spoke, “I am merely.. sensitive.”

“Sensitive..? Like in what way?” you blinked, lying against him fully as you felt a haze draw into your mind and soul. Your hand stubbornly stayed against his face as you fought against the urge to close your eyes, the Lich noticed this and seemed to be taking his time to respond.

The scientist eyed you, your scent so strong against his palate yet it emanated from such a small, fragile body, “in every way.”

Giving him a puzzled look you exhaled in a sigh, the dose of medicine making your head spin, your eyes closing in a way to counteract the dizziness washing through you. The Lich noticed the dose was really starting to kick in and slowly released your arm, drawing his hand to his mouth to lick the splotch of blood from his thumb, a shiver coursing through him at the coppery flavor. It was.. decedent.

You missed how the monster marinated on your lifeblood, his pupils wavering in excitement, his instinct tantalizingly stimulated.

A gentle shiver wove through your limbs as you felt your body unwind, going limp, going numb, inch by inch and piece by piece. Your hand slid down to his neck as your head dropped to his shoulder, your breathing turning to a soft, peaceful rhythm against his hide. With the call of sleep so close your soul gave a struggling, valiant flicker as you muttered against his black, rigid scar, “why..?”

The monster slowly released his exhale, enjoying how the slick taste of blood soaked against his palate before he gently shushed you. Wrapping the other arm around your small, quaking form he enveloped you in his body heat, his jaws remaining slightly parted as he breathed and tasted in the air. He felt like pacing but the sedative made being still tolerable, at least until your mind finally accepted sleep and lulled you into sweet complacency.

He allowed himself to stew in this position, taking his time to observe how this new chemical interacted with his magic and while it quelled his bloodlust significantly it barely made a dent in his arousal. He wouldn’t be able to stay here. A snort pulsed through the Lich’s chest as he gazed down to the woman in his arms, unable to help himself as his fingertips ran pathways across her skin in tender affection. So warm, so small.. so _tight_..

Feeling his saliva build in a greedy desire he forced himself to let you go, gently laying your limp body to rest against the pillows. The scientist slipped out of bed and used a set of summoned hands to wrap you tightly within the comforter. While the pain killer went to work it would also leave you feeling cold, there was not much he could do about that. He snorted as he thought, perhaps you would sleep through the afternoon, through the symptoms, as he had hoped.

The scientist paid no mind the discarded clothing tossed on the floor, stepping around the cell phone laying on the floor without a thought as he dressed himself. The turtleneck, while soft, rubbed along his scars and sent a chill through his back. This hypersensitivity would have to be something he dealt with.

A gentle growl wove through his throat as he pulled on his lab coat, the fabric heavy as he rolled his shoulders in their sockets and stretched his neck. His magic was churning, bubbling and itching for use as he focused on his destination and stepped through the void to land properly on the other side within his office. Though what he saw made his eyes narrow instantly, his claws twitching in irritation as he pulled his hands to his lower back and glared across the unwelcomed guests sprinkled through his office.

“We have some questions we’d like to ask you, WD Gaster.”

 

***

 

Dennis sighed into his hands, sitting on the side of the cold hospital room while Jake, Jared and Mike all conversed out in the hall. They hadn’t wanted to accidentally wake Logan with their bickering but it didn’t seem to do much good as the teenager heard the man stir anyways. Slowly the boy raised his head from his hands, his ear buds playing gentle music as he found Logan turning his head to look at him and smiled.

Standing, the boy returned the gesture as he carefully stepped up to the side of the bed, Logan beating him to the joke as he wheezed painfully, “and I thought I looked like shit.”

The two chuckled, Dennis shaking his head as he set his forearms onto the railing of the bed and watched the man beneath him hold his smile as the teenager countered, “well, you know, gotta keep my reputation up.”

While the teenager snickered he cast his gaze into the hallway, Logan following his focus and let out a sigh as he murmured, “you know they don’t think of you that way..”

Dennis bit down as he nearly let words slip and cleared his throat instead, turning his focus back on the battered man on the bed and changed the subject, “when are they going to let you out of here..?”

“In a bit-,” the man strained, obviously in pain but trying to mask it, “-got another surgery I guess..”

The boy’s smile turned downwards as Logan shifted and hissed through his teeth, spitting on his exhale, “that thing doesn’t fuck around..”

“I tried to tell you guys to drop it,” the boy muttered without feeling, turning his gaze to the machines in fake curiosity as Logan stared up at the teenager.

“What did it do to you, Den..?”

The boy merely ground his teeth together, dropping his head as he lightly shook his head. The white wires hanging from his ears swaying in in front of his chest as he did so.

“Why won’t you just tell us..?” the man sounded upset, unable to mask this emotion through the pain with the effort it took to speak, “aren’t you mad about what it did..?”

The teenager refused to make eye contact, focusing on the lyrics spinning in his ears along with the man’s pleading, “To you..? To me..?”

The boy bit into his cheek as Logan kept pressing, “To Robert?”

With a sigh Logan spat, trying to get the boy to say something, “what about that girl? Surely you can’t be okay with it doing-”

“I don’t care what he does,” Dennis murmured, drawing his attention to Logan as the men in the hallway glanced inside and halted their conversation, the teenager was unaware of this through his music, “but going after her is shitty, and honestly really fucked up Logan-”

“If you would talk to us about it we wouldn’t have to try getting answers from her-” Jake snorted, waltzing inside with the others on his heels, closing the door behind their party. Dennis turned his gaze over and straightened up as Mike glared at him behind the chiding man, “-we were right outside that alley, just a quick conversation and she would have been on her way. We need to know more before we can try catching it ourselves and find out what happened. What other options do we have?”

“Letting it go,” the boy snorted, taking his hands off of the hospital bed as he found himself cornered yet his soul gave a light flutter as he remained calm and patient, “leave it alone..”

His brother spoke as he took a few good strides towards him, setting his hand on his shoulder as he spoke, “-you’re saying we should let it get away with all it’s done?”

Dennis turned his focus to his older brother, staring Jared right in the eyes as he nodded. Mike just growled, filled with anger as he jabbed his hands into his pockets and hunched over with a sneer, “that’s fucking bullshit-”

“Shut up, Mike-” the teenager met his gaze, “Robert was an asshole anyways-”

Logan winced as he raised a hand, drawing everyone’s attention as he took a moment to breath and murmured quietly, “everyone, relax..”

The man let his arm fall back to his side, flicking his gaze between the group as they watched him, “the police report will be enough information for us.. If we leave her alone, Dennis-” all eyes turned on the boy, “will you get us pictures during phase three..? It’s the last step we need with her in it and I swear there will be no more articles, no nothing, to bother her..”

While patience was his soul type the teenager found this man’s persistence grating as he continued, “you don’t have to get near it.. You’d be in the building across the way with Jared, Mike would be on the ground with Alise-”

Dennis began to shake his head, Logan had gotten his own sister on it too, “-and Beck who has the tranqs, if we can block that seal on her neck we can do things quick and easy.. Nobody else has to get hurt. But in case it does show up regardless.. Well.. your pictures would make sure we would have more on it-”

“Do it yourself-” the boy snorted, taking a step back but found himself blocked in the room and Jake stared with his amber eyes agleam.

“We don’t have enough people-”

“Let me get this straight,” Dennis shook his head and glanced around the room, “so- even though you got your ass beat for fucking trying to question that woman, you are just still going forward anyways..? You guys are going to get fucking killed-”

“No, we won’t,” Mike snarled, “if you really cared you would be helping us-!”

“That thing isn’t natural-”

“It’s not safe-”

“I don’t want it coming back for you, Den-” Jared closed, drawing the room into a silence as his fingers dug into his younger brother’s shoulder, “you were gone for a day, came back beat up and traumatized- how are we supposed to feel about it?”

A tense stillness fell over the room as the teenager stared up into his brother’s eyes, swallowing dryly as he remembered that monster's gnashing teeth in his face but the image didn’t startle him as it used to as he murmured and shrugged out of Jared’s grasp, “you can’t solve a bad thing by doing bad things-”

“If the ends justify the means-” Mike spat, his shoulders hunching further as Dennis met his livid gaze, “-that ghoul is way too dangerous, it’s up to us before it just ends up killing that woman too. It doesn’t have emotions, it doesn’t even feel pain-!”

“No,” Dennis stated firmly, his eyes narrowing, he was done with this conversation. He ignored the others stares as he turned back to Logan and gently smiled, raising his hand as the man also did so and they clasped their hands together brotherly. The teenager kept his grip firm, as did Logan while they studied one another but the teen was the first to speak, “I hope you feel better soon, you dumb fuck.”

Logan found the words funny, a smile crossing his lips as he painfully chuckled though the others were silent as their hands parted. Dennis turned around and dipped past his brother to the door, music continuing to trail into his mind as he focused on leaving. Jake pulled Mike aside in order for the teen to open the door and slip into the hallway, the door slowly closing behind him and when the bolt clicked they all looked to Jared who seemed to be thinking for a moment before he turned his gaze upwards and murmured.

“Next week, mark your calendars.. The tranq tests went off without a hitch, they’ll be foolproof against that fuck. Beck warned us that regular needles don't work but with enough force from the gun it should be fine.”

“The warehouse is ready isn’t it..?” Jake asked while Jared nodded thoughtfully.

“Put the down payment on it last week, no one will know where it is. It’ll tell us what happened to Robert.. What it did to that girl..” he turned his attention to the men in the room, his expression firm, “and it’ll pay for everything.”

 

***

 

“We need your account on what happened, Doctor,” the detective spoke firmly, pen and pad in hand while the Lich cast his gaze over the ensemble of beings in his office with mild irritation.

Sans was standing against the wall at the back of the room, seeming to be sleeping while a handful of men in uniforms were perusing his space. One of them was even taking pictures of his desk to which he stood right next to. This human tried to pretend the scientist wasn’t there as he murmured and began taking measurements, his partner merely scribbling them down who was a heavier set woman with cold eyes. Another pair were documenting the shattered remains of the bottle of scotch on the far end of the room, the well spread out creatures made it hard to focus in on just one as drool began to pool in the Lich's jaws.

The large jump had helped use some of his festering magic though not as much as he would have hoped for, the dark pressure beginning to bleed from his very form. He knew the humans could feel it but they didn’t seem to understand, or acknowledge it, as the others went about their business with Mr. Briggs glaring up to him with his writing tool poised and ready, jumping straight to business as he spoke, “how were you made aware of the situation that took place at Club X last night?”

The scientist stayed statuesque, his dilated pupils staring directly back at the man as he paused and waited for an answer.

The seconds ticked on into minutes, neither willing to break face though Sans did as he cracked open an eyelid and watched the scene. Asgore may have appointed him to this detective for the day but he had a feeling he’d get in a longer nap than he had originally thought at this rate, the skeleton’s grin deepened as he allowed his socket to close and got settled in just as the detective spoke once more. His words drawling in the background as Sans dozed against the one sided conversation.

 

Lunch time came and went, the detective furious as he stormed out of the office with his crew though Sans didn’t really feel like walking out with them as the Lich turned and went back to his machine on the wall. The scientist’s magic was thick and made the skeleton’s marrow itch and ache yet he remained resolute as he pushed himself away from the wall, feeling better with his long nap, and sauntered up to the machine. Gaster glanced down at him and pulled his hands from behind his back as he signed jerkily, _‘is it your turn to interrogate me?’_

The skeleton shook his head, flicking his white eyes over the materials floating in the vats as he spoke sleepily, “i already know what happened.”

With a gentle exhale the monster placed his hands back behind his back, the violet hue underneath his eyes being hidden from the blue light within the machine as his experiment continued to develop.. Not much longer now, it would be ready within a few more days.

As the two stood side by side the Lich couldn’t help but to smell the skeleton, the scent didn’t entirely bother him as it was subtle enough and muddled from the musk of those humans having invaded his space. He was still forced to swallow another round of building saliva, his tongue rolling lazily behind his sharpened fangs as he suppressed the urge to pace.

After a few more moments of silence Sans spoke with a soft chuckle, “they aren’t going to leave that easily you know.”

Gaster slightly nodded, the tilting of his chin lost on the skeleton as he kept his gaze at the machine while Sans went on, “they aren’t too happy about you snatchin’ those samples back.. wonderin’ what you’ve got to hide.. wonderin’ what kinda monster you are.”

The Lich didn’t care, this was pointless drivel to him yet he could sense the curiosity in his creations tone. Wanting to be left alone he quickly summoned a pair of bony apparitions to face towards Sans as they signed wordlessly, _‘A lich, the boogeyman, a demon, a ghoul.. Whatever they wish to believe, whatever you wish to believe.’_

Sans repressed a chuckle, of course he would catch on to his prodding. With a shrug of his shoulders the skeleton turned to walk away from the pungent smell reminiscent of ashen smoke burning at his eyes and opened the door with a wave of his hand. He slipped outside and left the scientist alone in his office reeking of those detectives, it brought feral instinct to the forefront of his mind. Turning away from the machine he stepped across the room, not really focusing on anything in particular as his magic laced outward and buried into the hard surfaces of the room to smear their pitiful scents out of his territory. The effects caused slight tremors, rumbles and vibrations to echo in his chest against his soul as his agitation manifested.

Surely they would want to question her as well, a heavy snort tore through his ribs. They would want to breathe on her, stress her soul.. smother her. The Lich's eyes dilated sharply, his eye sockets beginning to ache in mild pulsations while the lights above began to flicker from his influence. He could play this game with the detective, his ferality was leashed and his conscious mind remained in command, yet he was getting a deep itch, within his very core, that whispered to him to keep her within the underground. To keep her.. his.

The hard line of his mouth twitched, forcing against his body to prevent a snarl as he paced within his office.

 

***

 

With a deep groan you found yourself stretching outward against the heavy comforter having wrapped your body in the earthly tones of the Lich, the aches and pains from your body seemed to have melted away though you lie confused and curious as you peered around the dark room. Being underground made it hard to tell what time it was. Taking a moment to shake your cloudy mind you lay in silence, breathing deeply before a yawn slipped from your jaws and shook your frame as you settled into the mattress and glanced around. You were taken to a moment in time months ago, when you first saw his scars, witnessed him lowering his guard and lived a moment of mutual bliss that somehow evolved into a relationship.

Sighing sweetly you regained your energy and mind, managing to shift over to the edge of the bed in an attempt to look for your cellphone. The cool sheets made you shiver as you looked across the floor and found the small device laying face down, out of reach. Effortlessly you reached a hand out and had a bony apparition snatch the device up and hand it to you before waving off into nothingness. Clutching the device you rolled back over to the warm spot of the bed, half an hour or so must have gone by for the monster’s heat to dissipate from his side.

You turned on the device and squinted through the bright light as your phone went through it’s opening cycle, gently chewing on your cheek absentmindedly you watched your apps load up and froze as you read the time. It was one in the afternoon, Jesus. Whatever Gaster had given you sure did knock you down though you had to admit, you did feel leagues better than you had this morning. Blinking you looked over to the nightstand to find the used needles set aside from a gentle pile of fresh ones with a few bottles of medicine sat out between them, their labels were too small for you to read so far away and in the dark.

Realization struck you as you sighed in frustration, your phone vibrating in your hand with notifications as you thought, the Lich had dodged your questions this morning and got away with it. A gentle worry built up in your gut, you had no idea why he was behaving so.. wildly. He wouldn’t be able to slip away from the topic next time though, you snorted with a gentle grin, you could always manage to get him to talk.

As you mused your phone kept blipping and buzzing with notifications.. You had hoped Jenny wouldn’t be too upset with you but it turns out you must have given her a heart attack despite your _‘please don’t freak out, i’m fine_ ’ text. You waited for the notification chimes to stop harassing your phone but it wouldn’t cease and was glitching out your device, you rolled your eyes and set the thin block face down on the sheets bundled around you. It took a few moments for the buzzing to stop and once it did you picked up your phone and found multiple missed calls from various numbers and many texts from Jenny with one being from Sans.

You didn’t want to see any more drama, you just wanted to relax and wake up for a moment so you ignored the long list of unread notifications from Jenny and instead tapped on the chat log with Sans. You were expecting some dumb joke but instead came face to face with a far off picture of Gaster glaring down to Carl who equally stared back with the caption reading, _‘* front row seats to the shit show.’_

Blinking at what you were seeing your eyes seemed to hover over the Lich, even though they were far off in the background you could see the light tinge of purple beneath his sockets and his shoulders were hunched over. He was fixating again. Sighing you stretched out your legs, feeling sticky and a bit cold you just huddled further in the comforter as you replied, _''wait, what's going on?'_

_'* dickstache wants information from him on what happened but he hasn't said a word.'_

_'How long has this been going on for..?'_ your brows furrowed as you typed yet you couldn't help but to smile at his insult.

_'* eh, since this morning.'_

_'Jesus- Fuck.'_ you groaned, rolling your eyes as your fingers paused. You'd have to get up. Flinging the sheet off of yourself you used your legs to lightly kick the thick blanket away, being met with the cold air and shivered as you rolled over and off of the bed. Your aches and pains were gone yet you still felt a bit numb, the cold atmosphere raising goosebumps along your skin as you stumbled in the dark. You hissed as you tripped over your pants and made your way to the wall to turn on the light, squinting at the bright light as you received another text from Sans.

_'* you all right, kid?'_

With a snort you deleted your draft and instead hit the call button as you glanced across the room while shivering, your eyes landing on the medicine laid out on the nightstand as the dial tone purred against your ear.

 

***

 

Blinking the skeleton held his phone in his hand as it began to vibrate against his cold phalanges, he turned his gaze upwards as he swiped the screen and lifted it to the side of his face. He murmured against the growls of the detective trying to lecture the Lich into speaking to him.

“'sup, lady?”

Gaster flicked his white, dilated pupils across the room to the skeleton as the detective broke himself off and glanced over his shoulder with a scowl. Your soft, tired voice trailed against his skull as you muttered.

 _'I'm fine, just slept too long from all this fuckin' stress,'_ you sighed, the skeleton could tell you were meandering around as you spoke, _'what is exactly the problem, what's going on?'_

“Is that her?” Carl asked, anger laced in his words as he turned further away from the scientist with his arms folded, “we need her statement too.”

Sans ignored the detective yet kept his lazy expression trained in on the man as the Lich festered, his magic making his bones creak as he suppressed a growl.

_'What's he saying..? Sounds like he's speaking with a dick in his mouth-'_

The skeleton began to chuckle genuinely, his ribs quivering as his smile deepened, “that you gotta come in for questioning.”

_'Wow you got all that from a garbled mess?'_

“well, you know-”

 _'Let me stop you there, pervert,'_ you giggled, Sans' eyes drifting to the Lich who was beginning to narrow his sockets and hunch a tad farther. The skeleton cleared his throat as he felt something dark and heavy twist along his bones.

“Why don't you just give me the phone-” the detective spoke, stern in his words as he stepped forward towards him to cross the room as the scientist flicked his gaze to the retreating human. Drool threatened to spill from his jaws as his tongue lashed against the backs of his fangs, the scientist studying the back of this creature's neck as he approached Sans, “-let me talk to her.”

Sans listened as you spat on the other end, full of fire, _'why don't you just put me on speaker.'_

Shrugging he murmured, “if you say so.”

As Carl came to a stop right before him Sans lowered the phone and clicked the speaker button, your voice trailing into the room as you grumbled to yourself, seemingly having tripped over something again on the floor.

“Ma'am, where are you?” the detective spoke, reaching his hand out to the phone and the skeleton allowed him to take the device as he looked at the screen and found a picture of the young woman smiling. It was taken before she had gotten her tattoo.

_'In the Underground, away from all this bullshit-'_

“Are you allowed to leave?” he asked pensively, glancing over his shoulder to find the Lich staring at him.

 _'Am I allowed to- what-? No shit I'm allowed to leave-'_ you sighed in frustration on the other end of the line, the noise tickling the scientists scars as his magic began to coil back into his body, _'look can I just tell you my account over the phone or are you going to force me to come in?'_

“This is a rather serious matter, ma'am-” Carl turned back around to face Sans who met his gaze idly, “-we have a man in _critical condition_ in the hospital, a suspect unwilling to cooperate and you are missing-”

 _'Fine-!.. fine,'_ you sighed, Sans studying the detective's expression as you spoke up, _'G? Can you get me in like ten- Oh-'_

The men both heard a laugh and blinked as they heard your voice trail a bit away from the receiver, _'G, I didn't mean like.. now.'_

Carl turned his gaze over his shoulder and found the monster gone, blinking wildly in frustration as his face scrunched up and he held the phone up closer while growling, “you said ten minutes, you better keep your word or I'm writing it in the file.”

 _'Yeah, I understand-'_ they heard shuffling, a light giggle and a deep, dark tremor that reverberated through the phone itself in the detectives hand. Sweat began to build up on the back of the skeleton's neck while the man merely glared at the device, _'twenty minutes, you got it-'_

Carl was beyond livid now, clutching the device tightly in his hand as he went to speak but heard an odd, static filled heaving warble of the scientist on the other end while she began to laugh and then the line disconnected. A few moments of silence went by as the skeleton held out his hand to take back the device, Carl tossing it at him to which he caught with ease. The man spat as he whirled around and trudged across the room, “I'm glad everyone else finds this to be a fucking game!”

 

Interesting, the detective was finally starting to crack. Sans pocketed the device, knowing he wouldn't be getting any further texts from the woman. All he could do now was sit back, wait and see how this all played out. Perhaps he could even fit in another nap as the man paced with rage back and forth across the room.

 

***

 

Laughing your phone simply fumbled out of your hands, the Lich's groping hands burying into the soft flesh of your sides as you squirmed and jerked about in his grasp. The scientist was hunched over the top of you, pressing you back into his broad chest with a deep purr. He enjoyed how you squirmed against his sensitive body.

“ _'don't bother giving him any of your time, my dear'_?” you imitated, “Seriously, G?!” you then cackled, shivering heavily as you managed to twist and pull out of his playful fondling. Catching your breath you backpedaled towards the bathroom, dark stains over your thighs to which he seemed to fixate on while trailing your form with his hungry gaze.

“I don't like him either but we should at least follow the law, I don't want to press charges or anything so let's just get this over with.”

He watched as you spun and cat walked into the bathroom, a deep hum trailing up through his throat as he shrugged out of his lab coat. His jaws parted to inhale your sweet flavors as you spoke in the other room, your voice bouncing along the hard surfaces as you turned on the shower but continued to shiver from the cold air, “I'm proud that you didn't kill that guy though, G.”

There wasn't a response but you didn't mind, testing the water with your hand as you peered around the large, natural stone tiled shower. You were oblivious to the undressing Lich who eyed your bare form from behind as you went on, “I-i'm not sure what he was going to do..”

You heard the light patter of his bare feet along the hardened floor as he trailed up behind you, hovering over your form as he drew in a deep inhale, his eyes rolling in his sockets as you murmured, feeling the water start to really warm up against your hand, “it makes me not even want to leave my house at this point, I just want to hide out here for forever..”

“That can be arranged, my dear,” he murmured, his hot breath stroking along the back of your neck as you jumped inside for the monster to only chase on after you.

The door closed loudly behind him as you both stood under the current, trembling deeply as a sigh left your lips while your eyelids dropped. The heat felt so much better, not having realized just how cold you had been. It wasn't long before you felt the rough pads of his fingertips trailing over your waist which made you jump and gasp, you jerked your gaze up over your shoulder. His eyelids were drooped with desire clouding his features, a light giggle left your lips as you relaxed.

“G, when you meant you were sensitive are you like.. super god damn horny or something?” you teased, though he just tossed his tongue behind his teeth. You witnessed the tendril somersault as beads of black drool slipped from his canines and trailed down his chin. Your eyes were frozen on the scene as he slunk his palms up along your stomach and rib cage, feeling how soft and tender you were as he coaxed you to turn around and face him.

He was extremely difficult to read right now, his eyes seemed glazed over as if he wasn't even truly there while he breathed down over you with the hot current streaming over the both of you. Steam clouded your vision as you yipped, his hands grasping onto you tightly before hoisting you up into his arms and stepped forward to press your back against the cold tile with one fluid motion. A hard shudder ran through your spine as his pulsing shaft lay twitching against your stomach, a rumbling growl reverberating from his chest into you as he parted his jaws further.

You tried to speak, shivering painfully from the cold wall and the hard contrast of his scalding body. He merely shushed you by jerking his face down towards your neck, pressing your head to the side as he lashed his tongue forth to drag up along your flesh, tasting you as his hips gave an involuntary roll forward. A shaky pant left your lips as his jagged teeth approached your neck and brushed along your delicate skin, skipping teasingly along your markings which sparked at his touches. Flinging your hands up you held onto his biceps, your nails digging into his hide as steam, arousal and hot water slipped across your forms.

“G..” you panted, trying to gain his attention yet he decided to reply by biting onto your neck with a deep purr, his cock grinding against your soft stomach with his hands trailing to your ass to dig his claws into your flesh. Whimpering you squirmed against his chest as he held you against the wall, working himself up as beads of black cum slipped down your abdomen.

The words left your lips as you panted, trembling weaving through your muscles, “I'm flattered but seriously-!”

You were cut off as he tightened his grip on you, his fangs threatening to break the skin as he snarled in order to shush you. Unable to control himself you found him lifting you higher up on the wall, trying to get a glance of his expression tucked against your neck but he gave you no real time to process what was happening as he pulled his hips back and ground the head of his shaft along your sore sex.

With a whimper you twisted your back and hips, trying to get him to slow down but he only found your struggles enthralling as the head of his shaft pressed tightly to your slit to draw a gentle mewl from your throat. While the drug earlier had certainly made you feel better the obvious ache in your loins was still fresh from last night, he paid your noises no mind as he rolled forward to stuff himself within you. The head of his shaft popping in with some coaxing before easing away to only repeat the motion, triggering a round of shivers to flood your back as you were given no choice but to just wrap your legs around his sharp hips and relax.

Streams of hot water continued to pour down the both of you, cascading down your chest from over his built shoulders as he worked himself within you with difficultly. A growl built in his throat at the fit as you whimpered and squirmed in his hands though he only used your body weight against you to further stretch your tight, unprepared walls. Unable to speak through the whines straining through your throat at his urgency your nails just clawed down along his arms as he panted into your throat.

He would thrust and ease off to only repeat the motion with more force, causing you to let out a soft cry as your body finally allowed him further access to which he basked in. Your limbs trembling with the effort to stay relaxed but it was easier said than done, the burning ache was strong as he rocked his hips up against you. Eventually he released your neck, leaning forward to grind himself upwards in long drug out strokes. A choked cry rang out in the enclosed space, being drown in the rushing water as he sunk to the back of you while he panted with a wicked grin tugging at his maw.

Allowing his eyes to close he remained pressed against you, feeling every twitch and flutter of your body around him as he heaved deep within his chest. Odd warbling and static popping filtered through his jaws as he tilted his head back and gently pulled his hands up along your waist, keeping your body propped up from his cock alone as your legs were shaking against him. The reverberations filling his chest drove into your small form, shaking your bones at this feral, satisfied purring.

A whine of discomfort pressed through your lungs as he roamed your body with his hands, grabbing at you roughly while you were pinned between him and the warming rock at your back that bit into your spine awkwardly. Looking up at him you found his jaws coated in spit, dribbling down his chin to patter against your bare chest just as he began to feel up a breast with one hand. Squeaking you jerked from his harsh grabbing but he merely pressed further against you, his hips jerking back to roll forward once more.

Your tight walls clung to him desperately, quivering at how hypersensitive you were to his motions a gentle cry left your throat as he brushed his thumb against a raised nipple and pulled his gaze down towards you. His eyes were white pin pricks. Nestled deeply within his half lidded, eerily smirking features as he took in your trembling, blissfully pained expression. The deep purple resting beneath his sockets truly began to worry you now as it seemed connected to his erratic behavior, yet when you began reaching up towards his face with one hand he began to snarl darkly.

A yip beat from your lungs as he braced against the slick floor, rocking his hips with more urgency and struck along your sensitive walls just right to send a jolt of electricity along your spine. Your words were choked into lewd moans, your eyelids fluttering wildly as he pressed himself to you and grabbed at your hips aggressively. Your hand then gripped at the side of his neck, digging into the scars raised from his hide. As he felt your nails attempting to pierce his skin it only made his tongue peak forward from his sharpened teeth, flicking in the air at his heaving panting while he worked his throbbing shaft through your uncooperative form.

Ducking your face away from the drops of spittle slipping from his jaws onto your chest you merely clutched to him, taking his demanding pace the best you could as he struck through you perfectly and began to build a heavy tension in your stomach. Clenching your jaw tightly you muffled a slew of groans yet he still heard them, a shudder tugging at his bones as he continued his deep, violent pace. The scent of your defiled body swimming in the steam rolling from not only the water but his own, scalding form and truly enraptured him.

Unable to hold back the closer he drew you your mouth parted as a heavy pant shook your chest, grabbing onto his arms tightly while your back arched and ground your soft torso back against him. His raised, black scars tickled and rubbed along your slick skin which only helped edge you farther. A gentle cry left your throat, ebbing into a loud moan of his name which he replied with a dark, thundering growl. The water droplets on his skin shivering and bouncing off of his hide along his jagged spine jutting from his skin.

These vibrations were the final straw as he rammed painfully through your clenching walls, your head tilting back as a harsh convulsion jabbed at your muscles with climax. A ragged scream escaped your throat as a deep, hitching laugh beat through his diaphragm while his pace only quickened. Riding out the electric waves of pleasure blanketing your sweating, flushed body just as his laughter devolved to a drawn out groan. Static hissing in your ears as he rolled forward and pinned himself tightly against you, his hips reflexively nudging against yours as he poured his black, acidic seed within you.

He continued this instinctual, breeding, motion as this substance slipped from your folds and was whisked away by the slowly cooling current above. Panting laboredly your hazy mind managed to flick your eyelids open, tilting your head to look up at him as he seemed to be baring his fangs at the wall, his conscious mind not there as his throat flexed and swallowed against the growl slipping through his vocal cords.

With a soft whimper you managed to hold onto him and elongate your back as you stretched up towards his collarbones, the trickling water tickling your lips as you brushed them against his hide to which he flinched at and drew his gaze downward. His chest was absolutely beating, growls and rumbles ripping through his rib cage as he held himself wedged tightly to you, unmoving. You had a feeling he wasn't going to respond to any words you could possibly try spinning so you decided to play into his primal aggression instead. Slipping your tongue past your lips you gave a gentle lick over his rigid collarbone that shivered at the act, the muscles in his neck tensing as he peered down at you, observing.

Ever so slowly he lifted a hand from your hip, his claws trailing over your arm up to your neck, resting his shivering digits against the back of your skull as he seemed to be studying your features. His jaws began to close while his pupils grew to their original size, a final, hard pant bursting through his throat down to you as you met his eyes and smiled, trying to hide your pain.

Clearing your throat you pulled yourself up against him as you murmured, trying to conceal a wince, “think you can.. let me down, big guy?”

He snorted but complied, snaking his hand around to your back while the other went to your ass and gripped firmly as a purr rolled through his throat. You shivered, your smile only growing for a moment before you shuddered as he lifted you from his shaft. Carefully you unwrapped your legs from around his waist as he eased you down though your limbs were shaky and didn't want to obey as you stumbled against his chest, his arms wrapping around you to keep you held up as his breathing eased up and he licked across his jaws.

Lightly laughing through the ache and acidic sting between your thighs you spoke into his chest, “G, you're going to break me if you keep this up..”

“No I wont, my dear,” he grumbled, licking over his jaws with his mouth yawning wide open into the cool stream of water to flush out excess spit and remove the black stains coating his jawline.

A soft shiver wove over your skin, noticing how the water temperature dropped yet you remained pressed up against him as steam was curling off of his scalding form, “is it like.. mating season or some shit for monsters?”

While you just giggled he snorted, keeping you pressed against him even as you tried to wriggle away with your legs growing stronger the longer you stood with him under the chilling current. The heat from his form kept you relatively warm though the colder water touching along your back and legs was starting to get uncomfortable, he took no notice as he murmured, “no, I am merely.. Rutting.”

“Rutting..? Like being in heat or something?”

“Mnn,” he hummed, closing his eyes as the cold water helped bleed off extra unused tension from his body, the steam fogging the entire room at this point but it cleared your throat and felt nice as you spoke.

“Are you okay? How long does it last..?”

“I am fine, my dear,” he murmured, drawing a hand up to his face to rub beneath his eye sockets as he shut his lids. You quietly watched him do this for a few moments before he snorted, a shudder washing down his hide as the cold water began to get to him. Removing his hand from his face you found his expression exhausted as he turned the heat up and allowed you to finally step away, trailing your gaze over his scars while you bit into the side of your cheek.

You had managed to get him to finally spill the beans on his behavior but figured that would be enough pushing him, especially if he had that detective trying to bite his ankles all morning. Oh. Shit.

Lightly gasping you blinked up to him, “how long have we been in here..?”

His gaze flicked down to you, a gentle tug pulling at the corner of his mouth as you just began to laugh and rubbed at your face with your hands, “okay, okay.. we should probably hurry up so we can get this out of the way.”

Despite your attempt at seriousness your gentle giggles and low, deep hums of the Lich echoed through the steamy bathroom out into the quiet bedroom. Time slipping by like the water flowing through your hair, the scientist’s claws touching ever so softly across your flushed skin.

 

By the time you two had finished playing around, got dressed and ready Gaster administered another dose of the medicine he gave you earlier this morning as he noticed how slow moving you were being. You didn't really want to get another shot but dealt with it, the after effects of the dose were worth the slight pin prick and you warily watched him give a much larger dose of something different to himself. He didn't even flinch but kept rotating his shoulders as if his muscles were stiff afterwards.

Ready to go you checked your phone and swallowed as you sheepishly spoke up to the Lich who stepped up to you, “we are almost an hour late, G.. hope we aren't going to get in too much trouble-”

He couldn't help but to smirk as he placed his arms around you, the edges of his heavy lab coat brushing your forearms as you held your phone in your hand and gazed up to him. A laugh worked into your words as you said, “we might get detention.”

“Hmnn, perhaps house arrest,” he muttered, his voice thick in his rustic accent as you giggled and pocketed the device.

“Yeah, I know you'd like that.. maybe later, I just want to get this over with and get some food then come back and just.. hide out.”

He studied your expression as you reached up and gripped onto his lab coat just under the lapels, his white pupils flicking over your features as he spoke gently, static fizzling on his tongue, “my dear, do not feel afraid of the surface.”

A light sigh escaped you, leaning your weight on one hip as he continued, “no harm will befall you, I will make sure of it.”

“Well, I know it's hard for you to understand G.. but it's mainly just stressful,” you nervously chuckled before biting your lip and let your gaze fall to the soft ribbing down his turtleneck, “I don't know.. maybe I just need to recharge for a bit, if that's okay with you..”

“Of course, darling,” he mused, drawing a hand up to your chin to hook a knuckled digit beneath it and drew your gaze upwards to him, “if you wish you may rest here for as long as you would like.”

A genuine smile replaced your worry, the medicine spreading through your limbs made you shiver from the cold sensations yet also helped ease your anxiety. You let out a deep breath and nodded, “okay. So, the plan is to talk to professor dickstache-” you caught how the corner of his mouth tugged, as if he was fighting a smile, “- get some food and get the hell outta dodge.”

He blinked at the saying, not understanding it but didn't dwell to long on your words as you stepped up to him and placed your forehead against his scalding chest. A deep rumble trembling into your skull as he placed his hand on the back of your head and held you for a moment, gathering his magic. Focusing, he murmured, “do not let go.”

Shaking your head gently you replied, “no shit.”

You felt the world leave you, your hair whipping in the void along with his lab coat. Deep within your mind you were hoping it wouldn't be a big deal, hoping it would be quick and easy like ripping off a band aid so you could really recover in peace but as your feet hit the solid ground you heard many voices shush around you.

A dark, rolling growl filled through the Lich as you gathered your mind, shaking the dizziness away before looking up just as you heard a voice speak from behind you.

“Doctor WD Gaster..” the gentle voice of the King echoed in the room, “what is going on here?”

 

Turning around to face the room you felt as if your plans were totally crumpled and then tossed in the trash. The entire Dreemurr family was standing there before you scattered around though Sans was also here. He was leaning against the back wall seemingly asleep as the detective stepped up from the King. Before he could speak Asriel and Frisk ran past his legs and straight up to you as Gaster widened his stance and pulled his hands behind his back, your gaze trailed to the kids who started blurting and babbling to you at mach ten.

“Guys.. guys.. chill- I can't understand you-” you giggled, releasing the Lich's coat to fully face the kids as Asriel tried to catch his breath and Frisk signed quickly.

_'They want to arrest Gaster.'_

“What..?” you were so caught up in trying to listen to these two frantic children as they just began to run over top of one another again, thoroughly confusing you.

Asgore stepped up to the two as he spoke, “now now, there's no need for such a commotion.”

His approach got them to break apart and gathered their frustrated attention while Toriel watched from besides Sans who was sleeping against the wall. She held her head high and watched with inquisitive, gleaming eyes. The motherly goat seemed to just be relieved to find you smiling, well dressed and relaxed. The detective strode right along side Asgore as they stepped up to the four of you.

The Lich's powerful, manifesting magic permeated out across his office as he hovered above you with his lab coat draping on either side of your small form. Frisk and Carl were oblivious to this churning, dark magic but the others were very much effected. Asgore was the only one to keep his expression neutral as his son yipped at him.

“You can't possibly pretend that entire conversation didn't hap-PEN!”

Frisk turned around as they signed with haste, _'you can't do that, he was just protecting her like anybody else would have done.'_

Your young friends seemed to be guarding you against the Lich who remained stoic and silent yet Carl studied his features with an oddly calm outer appearance. You swallowed dryly, glancing around as Asriel growled at your waist.

“Undyne would have totally smashed his face in too!”

The detective raised his voice, “that is not our only issue, young man-”

You could feel your stomach rumbling but just folded your arms and pressed them against your gut, getting settled in for this giant ass lecture. You would have preferred detention.

“-this monster has a history of violence. The trenches in the desk-” you tried to keep your expression flat but slowly began to break down into a frown as he went on and listed off, “-alcohol consumption, thievery, assault and battery, _domestic_ assault-” you gasped and growled at that, digging your fingertips into your arms as he cut you off and kept going, staring you straight in the eyes, “disrupting an investigation, hiding evidence and obstructing justice.”

Your soul flared at the word, a growl building in your throat as the Lich glared down towards this man. This did not settle with you well, _at all._

You hissed, “ _domestic abuse..?_ Are you fucking serious?!”

Carl nodded firmly, speaking without emotion as he announced, “I can see the scars from here.”

Blinking you refrained from raising your hand to your neck as Asriel snarled, his voice wavering with the higher pitched noise, “I'll give you scars from here-!”

Frisk had to grab onto the goat, holding him back as he snarled and bared his fangs. Quickly you helped grab onto the little monster as he kicked and spat, the Lich remaining calm on the outside yet his magic was weighing heavily on the monster souls within the room especially Sans as his face twitched in his sleep.

Asgore spoke calmly, “detective Briggs,” the man glanced up to the King who was smiling gently down to him, “WD Gaster has already been pardoned from those accusations-”

You watched as Carl seemed startled by this, going to speak but Asgore continued, “he is doing great work here. He helped cure our sick son and we respect Sun's decision to stand by his side-”

“Wait, did you also call G a _thief?_ ” you snarled, the King blinking to you as he brought a hand up and stroked his beard at the tension rising in the air, “-so aside from beating and abusing me he also steals? Wow, did he rob a bank or something when I wasn't looking-?!”

The detective took a few hard steps forward, glaring into your eyes as he firmly spat, “he took official evidence samples which is another mark on obstructing justice-”

You snorted, folding your arms as you leaned heavily on one hip as you retorted, “what are you even saying-?”

“That this monster-!” he barked, pointing towards the Lich behind you as he projected across the room, “-is hiding something! Something he doesn't want us to find out about, something that is _dangerous_ and _cruel!_ ”

Asriel yipped, pulling Frisk forward a tad before they could get a grip on the tile and grunted with the effort it took to keep the riled kid back, “you can't prove shit old man-!”

This pulled a frown on Toriel's face, a sigh pressing through her lips as Frisk slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up with a strained expression on their face as you just took over for Asriel and hissed, “why do you think that? Because he likes his privacy? Because he looks _scary?_ ”

The man growled, “because this monster has a LV of six hundred and sixty six-”

The acronym didn't even register with you though it did with the kids as they looked up to the man with wide eyes, the children slowing their struggles to just be at a stand still as Mr. Briggs studied your curious gaze which completely shattered your tough facade.

“LV stands for Level of Violence..” he spoke, pulling his shoulders back as you slowly shifted onto your other hip, unaware of how the monster behind you had to swallow another round of saliva having built in his jaws yet remained flat on the surface.

“A concerned staff member noticed it-” the detective continued, “-they wanted to know what monster type could have such a high tendency towards violence when monster souls were made of things such as compassion.”

The King cleared his throat as he lowered his hand from his face, glancing down to the detective as he gained his attention with a serious tone, “there are some things that our race has endured that are best left.. unsaid.”

Asgore could sense the man was about to make a rebuttal, forcing the monster to explain, “WD Gaster has been through.. possibly the one of the worst, it is how he survived, and while that fact may be unsettling to some we have confidence in his experience and knowledge to lead our research team.”

This got Carl to shut his mouth long enough for you to huff and speak up, drawing his attention, “you can be scared of him all you like. He does have a lot of magic, he is intimidating. But you know what..?”

You pulled your shoulders back, standing firm as you went on, “It doesn't change my opinion of him what-so-ever, I don't need your weird ass misogynist pity-” you felt the Lich's magic tingle through your markings and soul as you carefully stepped around Asriel and stood in front of the kids to spread your arms out and clarified, “I am _fine_ , I just want people like _you_ to see and understand that so I can live my life without having to try escaping the stress everyone seems to like to put on me because of the choice I made. Because they have to feel the need to _'protect me'_.”

You placed your hands on your hips as your gaze flicked over the detective, “now can I give my statement about how Logan tried to fucking attack G at the park with his piss ant brother using a magic jammer, and then he tried to drag me out of the emergency exit at the club so I can leave? If G hadn't come who knows what would have really happened to me while you just worry about how he is abusive simply because he doesn't smile enough for you-”

As you ranted you missed how Frisk looked up to the Lich, catching his attention as his eyes drifted down to watch the child sign a slow, _'thank you'_ with a smile on their face. He remained motionless.

“-Just because you don't understand how my relationship works doesn't mean it isn't invalid or unhealthy. If you want someone to patronize go and bug Logan and his brother because it seems they are just monster haters who have been trying to smear me online and kidnap me-” you snorted, taking another stride forward as Gaster drew his gaze upwards to watch you bristle at the detective who kept an unimpressed expression on his face as you hissed, “is that enough of a statement for you so I can _get the fuck out of here?_ ”

The man was silent, his pupils lightly flicking over your angry expression as Asgore cleared his throat and got you to back off as you straightened up and lifted your chin to look at the king, “no one is attacking you, Sun. We just want to make sure everything is going to be safe and secure for you in the long run-” you heard Asriel sigh in incredible frustration, rubbing his hands along his face while his father continued, “-we don't want this to be a reoccurring issue.”

“I agree-!.”

“I am merely doing my job, ma'am,” the detective growled, gaining your attention as he spat, “undead monsters are being targeted in the city more and more often and we don't know why. While we have found the missing monsters, none of them seem remember what had happened to them-”

Raising an eyebrow to the detective he continued, “-we are still looking for clues but _this case_ has wasted our entire day, my time and the time of the victims we need answers for. For fucks sake my partner didn't even show up for work because of the lovely interaction we had the last time we were here!”

You met Carl's glare with one of your own as you folded your arms, his words dripping with frustration, “-the last thing we need is a verbal statement from Doctor Gaster, if he would cooperate we can _all 'get the fuck out of here'_ instead of playing this game.”

The room was silent though the Lich was internally struggling from all this tension, his magic twisting and bubbling within his form to the point that Asgore himself shifted from the malice dripping from his body. It took only a few moments for you to start noticing the monster at your back was slowly, deeply breathing in behind you. Swallowing dryly you figured it would be best to wrap this up as quickly as possible, you dove into your account of what had happened that night. Saying how Logan tried to bother you before hand to which Gaster drew in a grating, grinding breath within his chest as you pressed on and explained how Logan managed to corner you.

Carl's harsh expression faded as you went on and explained your odd discussion with the man, feeling anger curdle within your veins like spoiled milk that soured your tongue as you finished your explanation. You ended on the note that Gaster took you back to the underground as you didn't feel safe at home. An odd silence fell on the room as you drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out, Toriel gently stepping up to the group as she touched the detective's shoulder and murmured, “perhaps it is best to further question these men.. ”

“We don't have much evidence besides the assault, there were no cameras and the only witnesses claim they just saw a near murder-” the man sighed, drawing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as Asriel barked.

“Don't be dramatic nobody died-!”

Toriel gave her son a stern look, his mouth closing yet a growl still wove through his throat as Frisk raised their hands and signed towards the three adults across from you, _'you aren't going to arrest him are you..?'_

Before Carl could speak Asgore beat him to it, his words were firm yet caring as he announced, “no, Doctor WD Gaster will not be arrested-” as the children's faces lightened the king enunciated, raising a hand, “ _-but_.. It would be best if he did not go into public for awhile,” he turned his gaze upwards towards the Lich who met his eyes with dilated pupils.

“It would be best for you to remain here in the research facility and at home while this issue is dealt with.. I must ask you do not go anywhere else.”

You nodded yet the Lich was emotionless and remained still as stone, his magic was literally oozing from his body and squirmed along your soul but the medicine he had given you made you rather numb to the invasive sensation.

The detective let out a heavy exhale through his nose as he thanked the lot of you before heading out of the room, you found it odd how quickly he retreated but didn't want to really question it either. A sigh of relief left you as the closing of the metal doors stirred the skeleton from his nap, his eyelids fluttering open while Toriel smiled to you.

“Would you like something to eat, Sun..?”

A smile crossed your lips as you nodded, sheepishly saying, “I haven't gotten the chance today yet, still trying to shake off what happened..”

Toriel's features softened, the kids grabbing onto either one of your hands and led you over to the woman. Asriel babbled away about how he wants to hear the details of what the scientist had done to _'that creepy kid'_ again though his mother shushed him with another stern look, your group heading out of the office while Asgore spoke up to the scientist behind you.

“While we all appreciate your intervention.. perhaps next time it would be best to not lay your hands on another human-” as the four of you passed through the doors Sans eyed your party, still slumped against the wall as you slipped from view.

Asgore went on, “-mercy is always an option.”

The Lich wasn't listening, too focused on his slow, methodical breathing to keep his magic focused within him as it struggled against his influence and made his mouth water. He hardly even noticed Sans' stirring until the skeleton landed his eyes on the scientist, Gaster's sore pupils jolting to peer right into the monster's very soul. For some reason.. that expression.. it made his bones ache.

 


	18. Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things go from bad to worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> This chapter is very, very gruesome/graphic halfway through with elements of horror.
> 
> Enjoy my lovelies. <3  
> I felt bad I didn't bomb this week so here is another 20 pages, just for you guys, served up hot. :3

While you perused the facility with Toriel and the kids the men stayed behind and lightly discussed the status of the fallen monsters, more so just Sans and Asgore.. the Lich was pretending to focus on the machine yet internally he fought to keep his magic under control, drool pooling in his mouth constantly as the hours went by.

You didn't spend long in the research facility, just enough to have some ramen with Alphys and the kids.

After your snack the drugs in your system begun to wear out, you said your goodbyes to your friends as you just meandered back to the Lich's office. The room was empty besides the scientist who seemed absolutely bored while staring off into space at the machine mounted on the wall, as you let the doors close behind you he turned his gaze and noticed your slow pace. He waited for you to get closer before he spoke, “my dear, do you wish you go back?”

Lightly sighing you murmured, “I should probably go home and check on Chip..”

He didn't say anything as he crossed the space between you two and pulled you into his chest, in the blink of an eye you were standing in your flat but you weren't expecting to hear the shrill sound of Jenny behind you from the couch.

“You BITCH!”

You yelped as you spun around, the Lich snorting heavily as he eyed your friend clambering off of the couch with a pillow in her hand. It looked as if she had been crying, her eyes were red and her hair was a frizzy mess with a pair of your sweat pants on yet she still wore her top from the other night.

“Jenny-!”

“You didn't even bother to call me back!?” she snarled, her knuckles turning white as she clung to the fabric and you sheepishly sighed. Stepping forward you were about to speak but simply got a face full of pillow as she threw the thing directly in your face, it didn't hurt but it startled you while the scientist placed his hands behind his back.

“You never break a promise to me-!”

As your friend blubbered and panicked you drew a hand up and pulled the cushion from your face, your hair a frazzled mess as you tossed the cushion onto the coffee table and grabbed hold of your friends shoulders to get her to shut up.

“Jen, look-”

You hesitated as you stared into her expression. Your friend's lips were trembling as she clutched to you and whined, “I'm so.. _so_ sorry..!”

“W-wha?” you weren't given an option to speak as she burst into tears and wrapped her arms around you tightly, rambling and raving into your shoulder as her back shook.

Awkwardly you set your hand on her back, trying to get her to calm down as you sighed and murmured, “I'm _fine_ , Jen. Relax.. It's nobodies fault-”

“Undyne can be Sunspot's god mother if you just forgive me for chasing you away-!”

The Lich's sockets twitched, raising his undamaged brow at the scene unfolding before him. Women were always so.. strange..

Unable to help your laughter you patted her back, squeezing her against you as she blubbered, “I do get to call dibs on hosting the baby shower though-”

“Jenny! My god-!” a laugh burst through your throat.

“I'm sorry I'm being selfish but I love you more- I just want to be a part of it-!”

You felt a heat drawing into your face as the scientist suddenly understood the train of conversation, a slight twitch pulling into his neck as you laughed, “Jenny.. Jenny, breathe. Please.”

Your friend nodded, sniffling and trying to catch her breath for a moment before she pulled away but you held onto each other's arms as you asked her gently, “what are you doing here..?”

“T-that detective thought it would be g-good to wait for you.. i-in case you came back.”

Guilt seeped into your belly, “have you been here since last night..?”

She nodded, sniffling some more and released your arms to wipe at her eyes.

You sighed as you went on, “I'm so sorry, Jen.. last night was just.. really crazy-”

“You chose sex over your best friend you jerk-!”

She was sniffling yet also laughing, it set a flushed tone to your skin as you hurriedly spoke with the Lich's magic churning along your soul, _“sshhhut your mouth right now before I slap you-”_

Jenny began to just laugh, a few more tears spilling from her eyes as she quickly wiped them away and you just pulled her into another hug while she tucked her face into your neck as you spoke, “it wasn't your fault for what happened..” she shuddered as you went on, “I should have called you this morning but I slept in and then had to give my statement and.. shit man.”

Sighing heavily your friend nodded, the both of you standing in the flat as silence and understanding blanketed the both of you. The scientist watched this display absentmindedly, his gaze flicking over the living room and recognized the blankets crumbled along the couch.

Jenny cleared her throat as she released her grip and you did as well, she hid her face behind her hand for a moment as she gathered herself and breathed, “just..-” she blew her exhale out slowly as she glanced away to the window before looking back to you, “-don't scare me so much next time, okay?”

“There won't be a next time-” you stated, a smile on your lips to coerce your friend to relax, “-I think I'm just going to take it easy the next few days-”

Right as you felt you had gotten your friend to settle down the front door opened, the Lich jerking his attention to the hallway as he drew in a deep breath, his sockets narrowing. Blinking you watched as Jake stepped inside with a bag in his hand, take out food.

He took a few steps forward, only being able to see the two of you at first as he spoke, “hey! You're back-!”

As he perused through the short hallway he halted, his eyes falling onto the scientist off behind you.

With the ebbing medicine in your veins you could feel fire igniting along your markings, trying to not wince through the sensation you glanced to your friend who met your gaze.

Jenny breathed, exasperated, “I refused to leave so Jakey decided to bring over food instead- I hope that's okay...”

You bit into the side of your cheek, looking back up into the mans face as he smiled to you and set the bag down on the counter, avoiding the Lich's piercing glare as he spoke up quickly, “no worries-! I'll leave this to you gals and I'll head out-”

“N-no,” you sighed, feeling guilty enough as it was. You really didn't want any further tension especially with the scientist being so high strung. Jake carefully turned around, his gaze being caught by the massive monster who began to hunch over, his chin jutting towards him as he drew in a deep breath and ran his tongue through the scents filtering in.

“It's okay, I don't want to steal your food,” you casually smiled, watching Jenny skip forward to the counter as she sang over her shoulder.

“You can steal some from me, wifey!”

You relaxed at your friends chipper attitude, stepping forward before you heard a hitching, warbled inhale from the monster at your back. Raising a brow you glanced over your shoulder to the Lich but he was already rounding you. With long, demanding strides he closed the distance to Jake who stumbled back against the counter and raised his hands upward as he stammered.

“W-whoa there.. G-gaster is it?”

“G-?” you tried, raising a hand as Jenny whirled around and blinked up at the monster silently, her mouth slightly open in surprise as they both got a pure look at the slight semblance of emotion gracing the Lich's features.

His pupils were dilated, bearing down into Jake's amber eyes. The scientist's mouth was drawn into a hard line while his sharp brow cast a heavy shadow down over his long face, glaring at the man before him. Slowly, his mouth began to part as he inhaled again. They could hear the odd grinding deep within his throat as he did so. You padded up beside Gaster and set a hand on his arm but he ignored you, he also ignored Jenny as she nervously asked.

“Uhh, W-what are you doing..?”

You turned your gaze to Jake's surprised expression and spoke, “he's smelling you..”

The man lightly laughed, leaning back harder to the counter as the monster loomed over the top of him. A hot rush of air tussling the man's hair as the Lich snorted, speaking darkly as he murmured, “this human.. smells of another whom is.. familiar..”

Jake slightly jumped at the odd speech, sweat building on the back of his neck as he gave a quick glance to Jenny beside him who was simply looking toward her friend. With no one else to look to for assistance he turned back up to the scientist's eyes, the tinge of deep purple lining beneath his sockets was new. The man clenched his jaw as he swallowed, blinking nervously as the monster leaned further over him and ran his studying, irritated gaze across his face. The tips of his fangs gleaming in the light as he inhaled once more, Jake couldn't help but to flinch away as he saw the light rolling of a black tendril within this creature's jaws.

 

You scrunched your brow, turning your gaze to Gaster as you replied, “G, he was just outside in public I'm sure he smells like something you've smelt before on me at one time or another.”

“No,” he drew, his head tilting to the side slightly as he marinated on his palate while the man started to really become uncomfortable and slid to the right, trying to round the counter but the monster just slammed his hand onto the granite and pressed dangerously close to Jake. The man swallowed dryly, sweat building up on his neck as he froze.

The loud bang reverberated into the flat, Jenny jolted at it and you just dug your fingertips into the heavy fabric of his coat as worry began to settle in. You knew he was volatile right now, anything could set him off and if he was already showing emotion like this it was not a good sign. Carefully you murmured, studying the Lich as he eyed Jake, “G.. relax..”

Frustration was building in the monster, this scent was so strong, standing out so much in his mind, but yet he couldn't place it. His Rut was clouding his mind, obscuring his rational thought with infernal anger at the mere fact this man was in the flat alone. An involuntary growl curdled in his chest as he exhaled to only sharply breathe back in, the air brushing through his jagged fangs against his tossing tongue. Trying to gain some type of hint, trying to trigger his mind into placing this convoluted smell and the longer the stewed on it the more he began to realize he wasn't just smelling one familiar scent but many.

“G- Seriously..?” you sighed, digging your fingers further into his arm and gently pulled at him in an attempt to break him from this fixation, “leave him alone.”

Jake gently laughed, keeping his hands up submissively as he smiled up to the monster literally beginning to bare down to him. The heat from the monster's body being a good excuse for the sweat building against the back of his neck as Jenny quietly turned to fully face Gaster, blinking into his eyes before looking to you and murmured through the tension.

“What did he say..?”

“He thinks he recognizes something on Jake, like an old smell or something..” you lowered your voice, murmuring, “he's a bit.. protective right now.”

She nodded but Jake internalized this information, swallowing dryly as he side stepped towards Jenny who carefully moved out of the way. As they slipped away the Lich tried to follow but you quickly stepped up to him, glaring up into his hued, glassed over expression as he leaned over the top of you to try smelling Jake more closely as you spoke, “G, just relax-”

“Don't worry,” Jake spoke kindly, giving a quick peck to the side of Jenny's cheek as she blinked at him, “I should run anyways-”

You looked over your shoulder as he met your gaze and genuinely smiled, “Dennis needed help with his homework and Jared has to work a little later today.”

A pang struck against your soul.

Was Gaster smelling Dennis..? Did Jake connect this information..?

It didn't seem like it as he nodded to you, stepping back around the island of the kitchen to make his way to the door while the Lich merely pressed over the top of you to stay focused on the human as he spoke, “glad to know you're safe and sound, call ya later Jen-!”

You grunted as the Lich pressed into you, careening far over the top of your head as you brought your hands up and pressed back into his chest. Becoming a bit irritated at just how dialed in he was acting.

 

As the door closed with a firm click behind Jake he suddenly bolted for the stairs, trudging down the steps and rapidly dug for his phone. The man was panting by the time he reached the bottom, flinging the door open and lurched into the street as he kept glancing over his shoulder. His fingers fumbled with the device in his hand as he tapped on a contact and brought the phone up to his face, breathing out into the receiver in a hushed tone, “it could smell Logan on me-” the man drew his gaze forward as he rushed down the sidewalk at a brisk pace, “-we have to move this forward. We need to do this _now-_ ”

 

Sighing you gently swatted the Lich away as he straightened back up and swiped his tongue absentmindedly over his fangs, his maw yawning open wide as he did so. You caught Jenny staring at his glistening teeth as you turned to her and sighed, “I'm sorry Jenny.. he's just on edge-”

She blinked, snapping out of her staring as she lightly laughed and waved you off, “it's okay.. as you said he's just being protective-” Jenny turned back to the counter and dug into the bag to pull out the plastic containers as she went on, “-he doesn't know Jake, it's understandable.”

Thankfully you nodded and relaxed, focusing in on the food that she brought out and felt your mouth watering as you sat down at the counter with her as she giggled and asked you about what happened. You found yourself indulging in the conversation, fully being able to rant and ramble to your friend as Gaster kept himself hovered above you as he thought.

Half way through your take out, mid-way through your bitchy conversation, the Lich leaned down over you, murmuring into the side of your face as his eyes focused on the far wall, “do not leave, I will be back, my dear..”

Blinking you went to respond but he was gone.

“What is up with him?” Jenny asked pointedly, waving her fork as you turned back to her and shook your head, leaning further over the counter to stare into your food as you murmured.

“He is just all super sensitive right now,” you began, earning a laugh from Jenny to which you drew your attention back up to.

“S-sorry-” she tried to speak, placing a hand on her chest as she tried to not cough, “-I never imagined him as the sensitive type.”

Smiling gently you shook your head, feeling a blush crawl up into your face as you explained, “not like that, I mean like.. well-”

You set your fork down and huffed, Jenny staring at you curiously as you began to explain how volatile he was being because of his primal instincts drawing in. Her face went through so many expressions as you talked, taking longer than you expected to explain what monster heat was as you kept having to ensure her you weren't going to have a baby. For the third time in twenty four hours.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, in the research facility, the Lich was slowly walking down the hall and studied the door to each exam room. He had forgotten which one he used to collect that Patience from the boy, the name stuck in his mind yet his scent wouldn't come forth. If he could be refreshed on this it would settle his concern. He was so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't noticed Alphys walking up to him nervously, “D-doctor..?”

The scientist ignored her, his jaws slightly parted as he paused on a door and drew in a breath in an attempt to remember which room he had used..

“A-are yo-you okay..?”

He snorted, passing her by as he strode two doors down and stepped into the room, leaving it wide open for the lizard to poke her head in and watched as he slammed his hands down into the exam table and leaned over it. A hissing, deep breath huffed through his throat as he tasted the air. Alphys swallowed heavily, a nervous shaking entering her body as she stepped back from the room and padded back to the lobby. Claire had warned her about the doctor's behavior and she agreed it was best to avoid the scientist for now, some things were best left alone.

The woman yipped as Sans suddenly appeared before her, lightly swaying on his feet from how tired he was yet he still managed to focus behind her as the Lich strode from that room and angrily slammed the door shut to fling the adjacent one open and lurched inside.

“..what the..?” he began, his sockets narrowing in confusion as Alphys sighed and explained.

“I th-think h-he's l-looking f-for so-something.. H-he wo-won't speak t-to me..”

Alphys looked over her shoulder, tapping her claws together nervously as the skeleton strained to listen through the disgusting, ashen smell of the Lich.

 

Gaster found himself closing his eyes as he breathed in this exam table, the scent was faint but it was here. This smell has artificial flavors to it, young and yet also so terrified. This was.. _'Dennis'_. While the Lich righted himself, marinating and contrasting the scents they didn't line up quite right. That verified one scent but didn't explain the others.. he should know this scent, it had been so strong in his jaws at one point but his trembling magic was beyond difficult to think through. A bad feeling was drawing into his spine as he heard Sans speak up from behind him, “what are you sniffin' round here for, doc?”

 

***

 

Both Jenny and yourself had finished up dinner and tossed the rubbish in the trash bin, Chip was lounging in your bedroom and you let him be as you decided to just stay out in the living room with your friend when she got a call from Jake. You didn't bother to try listening in as you played with your own phone, scrolling through your pictures and lingered on the early morning photos of the scientist and yourself. The lighting was so soft against your peaceful expressions, you let out a soft breath. Hopefully he would go back to being relaxed soon.

You were broken from your thoughts as Jenny jumped to her feet, ending her call as she sighed to you, “I'll be back, Jake forgot his keys.”

Lightly sharing a laugh you nodded, tilting your phone's screen away from your friend as you hit the lock button, suppressing a blush as you watched her leave your flat and you settled into the couch.

 

Some show was on that you weren't really paying much mind to, the multiple doses of medication today had made you incredibly tired and found yourself drifting in and out of sleep. Time didn't have much meaning before your phone started to ring beside you and drew your from your haze, lightly moaning you fumbled with the device in your hand and brought it up to your face, “Mnn'ellow?”

Jake's sheepish voice trailed into your ear as you rubbed your face, the flat was rather dark, the sun had already set, _'have you seen Jen..?'_

Blinking you felt your heart stop, your vision quickly clearing as you sat up fully on the couch and replied with a yawn, “she left a bit ago.. not sure what time-”

He sighed into the receiver while you exhaled, _'she should have been here by now.. I think her phone may have died.'_

“Where was she supposed to go?” you asked, gripping into the cushions beside you.

_'Well my keys were at the office, I guess maybe she got held up there..? I hate to ask but would you mind checking on her and having her call me from your phone so I know she's okay?'_

Your soul gave a flash of purpose as you jumped to your feet and scrambled to put your shoes on, “sure- sure.. I should be there in about ten minutes and I'll call you back.”

The Lich's warning to stay put was lost on you as you clutched to your phone and rushed from the flat.

 

***

 

Mike was jittery as he paced in the alley, it was really beginning to get on Beck's nerves as he reached his hand out and stopped the boy. The man snorted as he spoke quietly to the hooded face of the teen, “settle the fuck down, you're making me nervous.”

“I'm just..” the boy growled, his hands balling into fists, “excited..”

“Don't be fucking stupid,” Beck snapped, keeping his voice low as Alise leaned against the brick wall towards the entrance of the alley, “one slip up and it's over, I need you to keep a level head, okay?”

It didn't seem as if the teen was listening so the man harshly shook his shoulder, pulling a hissing complaint from the boy who looked him square in the eye. The man took the chance to whisper angrily in his face, “-for Logan. Keep your head clear for Logan, you twat.”

As the man shoved the boy he jerked himself back, stumbling a bit but then caught himself as he sighed and paced further back into the alley which was 'L' shaped. The path hooked around the office building to a dead end and was rather secluded from the light traffic of the street just outside. No one would be able to see anything in here.

The weight from the dart gun weighed on Beck's belt at his back, he had upped his dosage but hopefully everything would go smoothly and he wouldn't have to use it. His heart began to pick up a little faster as he thought, _'Just a quick discussion, nothing bad about that.'_

 _'A quick pin prick',_ he felt around in his pocket for the small syringe, gripping to it, _'she would tell the monster about it, he would take the bait. It would be over.'_

Beck could feel his heart beginning to race rapidly as he peered over at Alise, her gaze cast out into the street. She was rather shapely for being just a few years older than Mike, her long jet black hair laying past her shoulders in her casual attire. At least she was calm about this, after Logan got hurt she pressed them hard enough to include her in the plan against the Ghoul.. such hatred, was it worth it..?

The olive skinned man bit into his lip while Mike continued to pace further in the alley but began to distract himself with a pile of rubbish beside the large waste bin, metal and wood clicking together as he shuffled through the debris and gripped onto something. The noise from his scurrying pricked at Beck's anxiety until the man suddenly turned and strode up to the boy, hissing down at him, “what the fuck are you doing now-?”

The teen turned, a metal pipe in his hand that made the Beck's eyes go wide as he then snarled, “-are you serious-?!”

“It's just in case-” Mike growled, testing the weight in his hand as he gently tossed his head and swept his long bangs from his eyes, “ _-I_ don't have the fuckin' dart gun.”

“Because you are a shit shot-” he snorted, eyeing the piece of metal as it glinted in the low light but before he could say much else he heard a soft whistle.

The noise drew both of their attentions to Alise, her green eyes catching his as she nodded. Beck quickly turned his back on her, Mike falling in line beside him as they rounded the corner and got into position. The man felt nauseous as he ran his thumb over the cap of the syringe in his pocket, forcing himself to slowly breathe.

Show time.

 

***

 

You hadn't thought about leaving a note, about leaving anything, as you didn't even lock the door in your haste. Heart beating rapidly against your chest you found yourself briskly striding down the sidewalk. There wasn't much traffic tonight but you felt calm and gathered, you had walked this route for months to and fro from your old job.

Chewing at the side of your cheek you _finally_ began to draw upon the building and sighed, picking up the pace you unlocked your phone still clutched in your right hand. You were ready to call Jake back with whatever you were about to find, hopefully Jenny was just caught up in a conversation per usual. You were so focused on your destination you didn't even notice a girl texting on her phone and you both crashed into each other, your devices flying from your hands to clatter against the pavement as she gasped and stared at you with green eyes, fumbling her words, “I-i'm sorry!”

Blinking wildly you held up your hands and sighed, feeling stupid for not paying attention, “no it's not your fault-”

“I-i'm so stupid-!” You watched as the girl scooped up your phone and took off back from where she came from. A gasp drew into your throat as you swept her phone from the pavement and gave chase, trying to call out for her but she dodged into the alley, with a gasp you lurched down it and caught her fleeing as she sobbed in embarrassment.

Frowning you bolted after her, this alley didn't lead anywhere what was she thinking..?

“H-hey! Miss-!” you tried, your shoes clapping against the uneven asphalt as you watched her spin around the hard edge of the wall. You weren't far behind as you yelled out after her to stop but as you yourself rounded the wall your eyes went wide. You were going too fast to stop as an olive skinned man lunged for you, his arm swinging down towards you as you let out a cry and released the cell phone in your hand.

Your skin gave way to harsh, stabbing pain, scorching through your flesh right in the middle of your bite mark as plastic clattered loudly across the asphalt by your feet. The man continued to press down onto you but with a harsh, instinctual, throw of your arm a bony apparition back handed him across the face, the brute spinning off to the side with a yell of his own. Nearly in tears you grabbed onto the object jammed into your shoulder, hot trickles beading from the puncture while pure fire piercing through your flesh. You backpedaled and tried to run back out of the alley as you filled your lungs with air to cry for help but instead felt a hard, cold object slam into your back right between your shoulder blades.

Your cries were silenced, the wind being knocked from your lungs as you tumbled forward and tried to brace against your fall. Gravel and bits of black dirt dug into your skin, slicing your palms and forearms as you rolled onto your side and gasped at the silhouette of a hooded figure raising a pipe above their head.

“Don't-!” a deep voiced man bellowed, you heard him scuffling against the ground yet you were focused in on the metal glinting in the low light. The face of this figure was totally obscured beneath the hood as you snarled and braced yourself, reaching deep within your soul for the scraps of magic willing to obey while your markings, and entire side of your neck, went utterly numb.

Just as the man brought the pipe down towards you your own hand flung forward, the bony apparition floating above you smacked the object out of the way with a bright flash and crack that reverberated across the alleyway. The knock-back made the figure stumble as you wheezed, the pain in your back making it hard to move as you scrambled against the ground, kicking outwards as you tried to shimmy away from the assailant. Tears streamed down your face as you readied the hand in front of you but felt another, unexpected, blow from the side.

The kick sent you toppling over, rolling and skidding across the jagged rock beneath you. Coating the black, rocky soot in tinges of blood as you desperately gasped to breathe, pain coursing through your rib cage at every attempt to gather yourself. The men were talking angrily to each other but you couldn't make out what they were saying, your vision blurred behind your tears as you pushed up from the ground to try to scramble to your feet.

A hard clang rang out through the alley, this time a cold, metallic blow nailed into your exposed side and sent you pathetically crashing to the ground once more. Crying out silently, your voice stuck within your throat and slipped through your wide open jaws in a struggled coughing. You curled into a ball, the pain in your ribs unbearable as your feet kicked against the loose gravel below you, your soul was unwilling to give in, unwilling to stop fighting. Moving, shifting shadows grabbed your attention, turning your head up over your shoulder the glinting of a light gray metal caught your eye, your vision focusing in on the light to realize what was stuck in your neck.. a needle.

While your stomach was flipping, threatening to make you heave, a feminine voice was yelling yet you couldn't make out what was being said. The hard clatter of plastic rung out off by the side of the alley as foot steps bolted away from you. Tears clouded your vision you pleaded, a whining wheeze drawing from your throat, “p-please..”

You weren't given time to fully feel sick, to even comprehend what was happening.

The two men then stood above you, silhouetted against the half moon partially obscured by clouds as they barked at each other with the bony apparition hovering right above you protectively in stand by.

_'that thing must be here, people can't use magic-!'_

_'it's not here, dumb shit-! We'd know it- why'd you hit her so fucking hard, you broke her rib-'_

_**'shut the fuck up I can't think-!'**_

 

_***_

 

The Lich snorted as he whirled around and glared at the skeleton, still trying to think through the haze of his instinct yet of course Sans would begin to bother him again at the most inopportune time.

“losin' your touch, you gotta remind yourself of what that kid smelt like..?”

The skeleton chuckled, shaking his head as Gaster glared fully down to him, silent.

Sans prattled on, “did'ya forget that jenny's got an in with that kid now..?”

The Lich's brow drew together, his mouth closing into a hard line while his chin lifted. The skeleton stared up at him and snorted, “thought you were more observant than that-”

Quickly the scientist brought his hands forth, shoving aside his pride to sign and speak, “why would that female's mate smell like blood?”

The skeleton blinked at him, his own brows furrowing together as he thought for a moment and shrugged.

Golden energy within him began to fade yet the Lich hardly noticed as the cogs in his mind began to churn, his claws twitching in the air as his gaze drew into space.

Blood.

Blood spun in subtle arousal, in fear. That human from the club.

Her golden energy flickered within his soul and made him take pause, the skeleton about to open his mouth but a growl hummed from the scientist's chest as he threw himself into the void.

 

 

***

 

_'You fucked_ _**everything** _ _up-!'_

_'No I didn't-! How were we supposed to know she can fucking use magic- this is fucked up!'_

Through the pain, through the tears and through your confusion you coughed and threw out your arm while the other cradled your wounded side. The bony hand above you flung outwards toward the men, making them reel back but the hooded figure with the pipe knocked it to the side with a heavy double handed swing before rushing back towards you. The other man tried to grab at him but his baggy clothes slipped from his hands, the hood being ripped from the boys face. A weight sat into your gut as you caught a flash of white beneath shaggy hair as the individual snarled down towards you, you recognized this face. Mike.

Your soul gave a pained cry for help as you summoned a second hand, the fingers clutching the sky as it pushed up and outward from you just as the metal came whistling down towards your head. A harsh exhale tumbled from your chest in a raspy, strained scream of the scientist's name just before a reverberating thud split through the hand. Sending spirals of dust onto your form just before a harsh crack slammed into the side of your head, the blow knocked the lights from your conscious mind as your body was tossed down to the asphalt. The vicious impact spun your chest down to the ground, your face buried into the sharp rocks below with your hair blanketing across your delicate features as you lay, limp.

 

A faint ring bounced across the alley as Mike panted and stood above the body, his gaze frozen on her form with blood trickling down the side of her head. Beck ripped the weapon from the boys hands, snarling as he tossed the pipe across the ground for it to clatter and roll to a stop against the brick wall, “are you fucking insane?! _You killed her!_ ”

“It was either I hit her or she fucking hit us, okay!?” Mike spat, looking down to the woman as a deep, red gash lay glistening upon the side of her head. Her hair was a sheet blanketing her expression with the needle still jutting from her shoulder, those black marks on her skin had faded and he found himself staring at them.

“We are just trying to get information, not kill an innocent person-!” Beck snapped, stepping towards the boy as blood trailed down her face and to the black pavement. The stone hungrily stealing away with the crimson ribbons, filling the cracks and grooves in the abused, abandoned corridor.

“We're no better than it-!” the man continued to growl, shivering taking over his body as the boy slowly turned his gaze towards him with wide, panicked eyes.

That's when they heard it.

A cry, a wicked banshee wailing into the city.

Their gazes slowly turned to the end of the alley where Alise had already fled, dread sinking into their stomachs.

The Reaper was upon them.

 

***

 

The Lich had felt her soul call to him.

Yet when he returned to the flat she wasn't there.

He couldn't pin where she was, at all.

A savage sneer pulled through his face, his body trembling and shaking with rage as his magic boiled within him and in great flashes he flung himself out of the apartment. His claws raking over the wooden door as he slammed it open, the door knob cracking into the drywall as he dove down the steps in chase of her scent. With his jaws open and eyes wild the sidewalk would clear of obstacles on their own as pedestrians gasped and leapt out of his way. The monster would kick from the ground to flicker through the air and land a few feet ahead, jumping farther and farther each time. The heavy lab coat draped across his shoulders whipped violently against his body as he sprinted.

A hard pang rang out against his soul.

His jaws suddenly snapped shut, the harsh clinking vibrating through his skull as he slid to a halt and came to a stand still. The scientist's claws were hovering in the air, twitching, as monsters and humans alike fled far out of his path and even bolted through traffic to escape the suffocating, violent dark energy twisting off of his wretched body. Those not fast enough yelled out in pain, being unable to breathe as they coughed and were pulled out of range by bystanders while others frantically called for help. A vehicle swerved and crashed into another just off to the side of the monster but he wasn't paying attention to Earthly goings ons.

He was focused on the slight, subtle movement of her energy along his soul. It was fleeting, no matter how hard he focused he could still not grip onto her location. Something beyond rage, something beyond primal instinct, washed through his form as he drew in a breath and the noise that was released from his throat rattled windows. Amidst his wraith-like howl babes cried in their cribs, women screamed and the crowds of the nightlife absconded away from the devilish terror screeching his call into the night.

The very air itself seemed to warble, to shake and cause such confusion and chaos in the streets as the souls of those around him responded to his summons. Humans and monsters alike were baffled as their souls burst forth and hung before their chest, some were violently forced out and shuddered painfully as those with stronger will screamed at the sensation. The Lich ebbed his wicked, devilish shriek as he lowered his chin coated in thick, sticky drool. He had felt a tiny whisper of golden, sparking light. It was her.

A grunt left his throat as he vanished from where he stood, having to do a few jumps on her trail as he found himself standing in front of an odd office building, the crowd scrambled to avoid him in a wild panic yet he hardly noticed the shifting sea of creatures below him. He whipped around, breathing and tasting the air. Her scent was faint against the chaos churning around him, sirens blaring in the distance. His white eyes trailed along the sidewalk as he strode forward, catching a fresher line he then ducked after it into the alley, the shadows welcoming him from the rapture ensuing in his wake.

While he stepped into the silent alley he could taste it, the coppery, sweetness of blood. The bones in his body began to roll and grind along themselves as he trudged forward, his eyes scanning the walls in every direction while his magic lashed outward and cast oily tendrils to slither through the shadows to molest the brick and mortar bordering around him. His eyes lingered on a large pile of rubbish at the end of this corridor but as he carefully, cognitively, rounded the wall his gaze immediately landed on her small body, slumped into the darkness of the cold pavement.

Blood assaulted his senses, his magic cracking and popping within his chest audibly as a tearing, grinding snarl warbled through his parting jaws. Gobs of spit trailed down from his hanging maw as he paused and scanned the area. He could taste other humans, three of them.. all.. fresh. Yet her soul, weak and throbbing, sang to him. He felt an odd pressure in his sockets as he gazed down to her still form, blood glistening from her head with dark bruises staining the sides of her arm. A syringe firmly impaled into her neck that stuck out from the sheet of her silken hair, a foreign flag waving sovereignty in her innocence.

The monster seemed to glide across the ground and in no time was crouched over her, his black coat settling along the disheveled asphalt behind him as his eyes flicked over her body. A soft, whistling strain of air left her lungs beneath him. She was alive, her soul still pulsing within her chest albeit weakly. While the taste of blood pooled in his jaws and spit dribbled from his chin in long, clinging strands his magic festered and completely took over the alley. It shook the loose rocks on the ground beneath him and even rattled metal. The noise was odd, triggering his instinct as his gaze shot upwards towards the back of the alley where massive, metal garbage bins sat in wait.

A deep seeded, grating snarl tore through his throat as he poised himself over her protectively. War had taught him to stay at attention, to clear an area and there was an itch dragging through his spine directed at these dumpsters. Along with blood he also began to taste a stronger scent of a human, a familiar, irritating, human. He gently crawled over the top of her, his eyes locking onto the scent of fear before him as another wavering growl tapered in his chest.

 

Beck trembled wildly behind the metal bin, his palm pressed to his mouth while the dart gun shook in his sweaty hand. He could hear the beast just outside of his hiding place drawing closer.. closer..

Why didn't he _run_ out of the alley..? How could he have been so _stupid..?_

_Nobody was supposed to get hurt._

The monster drew closer, his hot breath trickling down from the wall and brushed across the side of his face as he heard the thing inhale just over the metal waste bin that his back was pressed into. Shaking like a leaf the man found his eyes opening, turning his attention upwards to see the hard shadow of the monster shifting along the brick wall. He had forgotten just how large, and disturbing, this monster was. It shook him to the core, hot trickles of moisture split from his eyes and trailed down his cheeks as the unnatural groaning emitting from this beast.

Beck swallowed with difficulty, his strained breath pushing into his hand from his flared nostrils. His mind was chaos, drowning in adrenaline. The sound of creaking metal made him flinch, the vibrations running down the bin into his spine as the creature huffed, tasting the air. It was only a moment away, the act of glancing downward, to discover his hiding place.

He wouldn't have a choice now.. it was now or never.

Either he pulled the trigger.. or it _would_ find him.

Beck gathered himself, releasing a shaky breath into his palm firmly planted across his lips before drawing one in as the shadow lifted from the wall. The metal at his back shifting and creaking as the monster removed itself from atop it. Footsteps trickled off to the side of his hiding place as the beast huffed and spat, an odd, pained moan like the dead thrummed against the cold brick across from him and even purred in the metal at his back. The man tightened his grip on the gun, panic setting in. This monster was no Ghoul.. it was something terribly, terribly worse than that.

It would show him no mercy. It would find him.

The man stilled his shaking nerves by tightening his grip on the dart gun in his hand, the slick metal of no concern as he slowly dropped his hand from his face and braced himself against the broken asphalt digging into his backside. Another moan, rolling into a thundering growl as the air around him shook. A deep pressure within his very being made it hard to breathe, the only thoughts on his mind were survival. This monster wasn't just looking for him, it was hunting him.

One shot.. one shot and that's all it would take.

He could do that.

He could live with this lesson for the rest of his life, he would move.. he would cut ties with his old friends and settle down to a quiet existence. He could survive and start anew, all he had to do was pull the trigger.

Biting into his bottom lip the man began to bleed, rivulets of crimson trickled down his chin as he slowly.. _slowly.._ leaned out from his hiding place with his finger curled around the black, matted trigger, and came face to face with the glistening, enraged expression of the Lich. Black spit coated down the bared, dagger-like fangs of the beast as a sharp inhale hissed through it's throat deep within it's chest at the sight of prey.

The scream that tried to escape from Beck's lungs was caught in the mighty jaws of the monster, it's razor sharp teeth burying into the man's face as he bit down. Frantically the man kicked and shouted as he was drug out from his hiding spot by his head, seething, eternal rage driving the monster's canines into the jaw and temple of this creature which flailed frantically.

Instinct kicked in on the man, as he was pulled out from behind the metal bin he threw his arm outward and shoved the barrel of the gun against the thick, quivering structure of the beast's adam's apple and fired. The gun kicked back against his hand, darts shattering against the hide of the monster as Beck gave out a pained, unnatural cry and kept squeezing the trigger until only blank clicks pulsed into his palm.

It had done nothing.

Gaster felt soft thuds against his hide, the sensation hardly registering with the monster as he finished pulling the human from the wall and straightened up into a full, awkward crouch. The bones in his back jutting oddly through his lab coat with his arms flexed, outstretched with his claws clutching the air angrily, perched on the balls of his feet. The human must have felt this was the end as it tried to scream, plead and dropped something heavy against the pavement as it clattered along with the sound of creaking bone. The kicking and clawing of his creature only irked the Lich.

Within Beck's mind the man began to pray to a God- To _any_ God that would listen.. that would grant him mercy.

_'Forgive me Lord-'_

_**Crunch.** _

Iron fangs sunk into the shell of the human's skull, a wail piercing the city which should have sent satisfaction in the soul of the monster yet it only made him seeth. The Lich tightened his grip and with one final, deliberate bite the human fell limp with a gush of blood and matter spewing outward from the beast's coated jaws. The heavy body of the man crumbled into a wet heap on the asphalt, the shivering soul of the human being forgotten as the monster spat remnants of bone and meat from his jaws as steam curled and wafted up into his sockets from the split open, bursting, corpse.

The black spit blanketing the remains fizzled and hissed angrily, the scent of burning meat filling the alley as the monster gazed down at the carnage wrought to this human. The Lich focused in on the soul shattering within the creature before him, yet as he stared the fragments seemed to hesitate their collapse. The body twitched, the muscles in it's arms beginning to tighten while a few fingers flicked in the air. Gaster's soul pulsed with the beat of a great hammer as the fragments began to swirl in an inky black color but before they could be gathered together, before the corpse could begin to truly shift, he heard a soft, strained sob shake out behind him. Snapping from his focus the soul was released and fully shattered, the corpse falling still as clouds of hot steam rose upwards from the exposed innards.

Her whimpers, her pain, lashed his magic out in his body and threatened to break his own bones as he lurched forward and grabbed onto the corpse. Blood and meat squelching up through his hands as he vanished with the mangled husk.

When he returned he was poised over the battered girl, her soul aching within her body as his bloodied, stained hands gently scooped her up into his arms. She cried in protest to being moved, her head rolling limply as he slowly stood with sirens ringing out in the streets. These noises were lost on him as he stared into the tightly clenched, wheezing sob straining from her broken body. Blood caking her hair against her soft, pained face. He stood, frozen, with her in his arms, her cold body pressed to him as she slowly slipped from consciousness once more with her face rolling towards his crimson, soaked chest.

His claws trembled against her, a shake heaving through his lungs as this odd pressure built back into his empty sockets. Be-ridding the world of that human should have quelled his rage for defiling this woman, yet it did not. His fury, this sensation welling in his form, was mounting true, physical pain across his soul. As footsteps rang out from the entrance of the alley the monster drew the shadows inwards, wrapping around his body in greasy tendrils that fed from the lifeblood having been spilt unto them. Drawing from the dark, stained history of this alley the Lich was flung through the void and into the dimly lit lobby of his research building.

An array of hands summoned around him as he bolted straight for the wards, his expression wild as blood still dripped down his features and flicked into the air from his harsh, quick movements. Screams echoed in the halls, lost upon him as he lunged through the technicians not fast enough to part as his bony apparitions shoved and backhanded the creatures out of his path with such violence they were sent to the floor. Unoccupied hands flung open the nearest empty room. The door slammed into the wall, striking splitting cracks along the surface as he whisked her inside and laid her body down against the white sheets, staining them with blood as he tore his coat off and tossed it across the room to crumple into a pile on the floor against the corner.

A skeleton in a blue zip up hoodie stood motionless in the doorway, sockets pitch black as he watched the Lich skillfully rip open her shirt while drips of blood and meat slid down from the monster's jaw line. His gaze trailed over her cold flesh, taking in the bruises on her sides as he snarled passionately. The lights above fluttered wildly, the equipment themselves shaking against his rage as he ordered his conjured hands to remove her clothing fully, leaving her in just her panties and let the torn clothes fall to the floor beside the bed.

The monster spun around to the shelves, tearing the doors off of the cabinets and threw them to the floor as he molested the contents for rags, sutures, medicine, whatever he could grab with his large hands in one sweep. Spinning back around he methodically handed these items to the array of waiting apparitions. His eyes caught onto the blank sockets of the skeleton, without breaking from his rushed pace the scientist eerily spoke with a powerful sneer as his magic lunged for the doorway, “assist me.”

Sans let out a choked cry, an invasive pressure burying into the very marrow of his bones and brought his body stumbling into the room on the opposite side of the bed. He found his hands working on their own, his left eye flaring a brilliant blue as he focused on the cold, pale body of the woman before him. His conscious mind was focused on her face, coated in blood and thick strands of hair, trying to process what was even going on. Yet, when his hands went for her throat his attention jolted down to the oddly faded bite marks embroidering her flesh, an embedded syringe sticking out from atop her neck.

His bony digits carefully pried the needle from the woman's muscle, the end had bent from an obvious struggle and made rage ascend to new heights in the flaring magic of his eye. Blue, flame-like energy lashed out from his socket as he tossed the tool aside to the bedside table, it clattered across the wood with streaks of red blood dripping from the sharp, angled metal needle. Sweat began to roll down his porcelain skull, voices yelling into the room from the doorway but the pure horror of her wounds was making his head spin. He moved and worked quickly, unsure if he was truly being influenced or had just been snapped out of shock.

There was nothing to be said, not yet.. not while her broken body lay limp before him as the Lich studied and felt through the bruising on her sides methodically, foreign matter and red dribbles of blood stringing downward to her soft form. This blood from the scientist and the open gash on her head stunk, burning Sans' nostrils as a floating, bony hand offered a damp rag to which he snatched and carefully began to clean the sore, spotting flashes of white beneath the crimson rivers coursing down her hair. Luckily there was no fracture along her skull but the overall appearance of such a wound shook him to the core, he felt furious tears prick at his sockets but pushed them away as he growled and applied pressure to her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Gaster snarled as he pulled his hands away from her body and finished preparing the machines, taking over from the bony apparitions as he set up an IV with pain killers hooked into the rig as the white stoat burst into the doorway, shoving away the crowd of technicians and gasped. Alphys pressed in right on her heels as she drew in a shaky inhale, her hands flinging up to her mouth as Claire cried out towards them but not either of them couldn't hear her while the Lich stuck the IV into the woman's arm and taped it down. The same place she had been so exuberant about refusing, at least this time she couldn't fight him on it.

With a snarl the monster commanded Sans to step away as he rounded the bed, nearly knocking Alphys over from his haste as he snatched the rag from the skeleton and shoved him back against the wall as his magic was torn from his body. The skeleton gasped and began to pant, gulping down air as he stayed propped against hard surface at his back though his flaring blue eye stayed pulsing within his socket while his Father's back was towards him. The Lich wiped the blood from his face and threw the soiled rag angrily to the floor, crimson streaks remaining on his hardened, furious expression as he leaned over the woman struggling to breathe on the mattress. Claire swiftly filled the empty position on the other side of the bed, trying to get a grip on what was happening, trying to help, but the scientist was already multitasking everything.

Multiple bony hands were operating equipment, scribbling on a new clipboard and preparing sutures in the air beside him. As he tried to get a look at the wound the woman groaned and tilted her head towards him, her eyelids fluttering as she stirred. He firmly grabbed onto her skull, mindful of the gash rendered across the side of her head, and kept her pinned against the pillow. She weakly fought him, it drew a violent snarl from his throat as the stoat grabbed the woman's hand and tried to speak to her.

Sentiments were foolish, time wasting.

A bony hand grabbed onto the stoats shoulder, the fingers digging painfully into her flesh to make her wince as he channeled his magic and commanded, “increase the drip.”

“W-what-?!” she stuttered yet obeyed, her hands fumbling with the equipment as she barked at him, “w-what _happened?!_ ”

“Shut up,” he hissed, static popping and sparking in his coated jaws as he began to really study the wound bordered between his twitching thumb and tense pointer finger. Noticing bone he swore in a slurry beneath his breath, the odd noises lost on his staff yet not on the woman as she began to giggle, softly and barely audible, but it was enough for the others in the room to jump up to the bed and gazed at her while the Lich cleaned the wound to inspect for fractures himself.

“G..” she wheezed, “..your mom.. i-is a skull f-fu..ucking pig d-dog..”

“She's confused,” the stoat announced, pulling a small flashlight from her pocket as she carefully swiped the sticky hair from the woman's face and helped lift her eyelids with her thumb. Shining the light in her eyes Claire found the woman's pupils were uneven and unfocused, clicking the light off she began to bark at Sans and Alphys just as the woman fell limp again.

“Why didn't you listen to me-” the Lich growled beneath his breath, the sound strained through his throat as Claire looked up at him from across the bed, her nose twitching while Sans vanished and Alphys scuttled from the room, “-why didn't you _fucking_ listen to me.”

His voice cracked, bouncing off of the hard surfaces of the room and interfered with the lights as they shuddered and quivered in the ceiling.

 

***

A few hours had passed.

He never left the room.

He stood motionless in his blood soaked, smeared turtleneck over her bedside, his eyes occasionally flicking to the machines as he listened to the commotion stirring in the hall. The door to her room had been slammed and locked long ago after his son returned with the king, it wasn't long before the entire crew was here in his lab yet he refused to deal with them.

His magic was so angry, so vehemently malicious, that it was making his eye sockets pulse.

Slowly he drew a hand up to his face, digging his stained fingertips beneath his eyes as he shut them.

 

“she didn't listen to me either,” a deep voice murmured, the scientist snarled through his hand as he lowered his palm from his face. His sockets cracking open to glare at the slouched skeleton standing on the other side of the bed, his exhausted eyes focused in on the woman laying on her back as she struggled to breathe through the oxygen mask. She was tucked underneath the white sheets covering her shivering form, stained in smears of blood from the scientist's own hands.

The Lich was silent, motionless as his claws stayed raised just beneath his chin, his digits twitching while the lights above shuddered and flickered wildly though this didn't phase the skeleton as he continued, “was before you. she came runnin' after that fuckin' weed when i told her to stay put.. heh..”

The shuddering gaze of the skeleton flicked up to the scientist as he dropped his hand further, “guessin' you thought nobody heard ya..? heh.. your magic is so thick it chased me through the void, as if you were breathin' down my neck.”

“Leave,” he commanded, his gaze cold and distant. His magic was so heavy in the air there was no need to translate, no need to sign, though the scientist wouldn't have bothered with the effort anyways.

“they got that human detective lookin' at the mess you caused, blood everywhere.. found a weapon, evidence, cell phones.. but no bodies-”

The skeleton leaned back, his gaze going dark as he stared back at his creator from across the bed, “-we know one.. who was the other..?”

A deep exhale pressed through the Lich's jaws, the soft conversation between the two undead monsters was shadowed by the chaos ensuing just outside in the hall, “Beck Crossfield.”

This seemed to startle the skeleton, his white eyes bouncing back into his sockets as he blinked and slowly shook his head as he breathed, “the detective's partner..? pretty fucked..”

The words tumbled from his jaws as he lowered his hand fully and slipped it into his slacks, the both of them turning their attention to the woman as he muttered bitterly, “magic blocking injection, I could not see her-”

“followed her scent, eh..?” the skeleton acknowledged, drawing in a breath as the Lich carried on.

“Yes.. ”

“this wouldn't have happened-”

“If she was with you, Sans?” the monster stated flatly, drawing the skeleton's attention as he spat, “if I were dead-?”

The skeleton tried to open his mouth but was cut off as his jaws loudly snapped back together, a deep ache ringing in his teeth as the Lich spoke darkly, “-I will be the judgment to lay waste to those before me-”

A deep, shuddering hum wove through the room, “-I will be death stealing the final pulse of life from tragic wastes of flesh-”

Sweat began to bead down the skeleton's vertebrae as he found himself frozen in place, the monster before him twitching his head to the side oddly as he chanted, “-I will be the one to end it.”

Snarling Sans retorted, straining through the hold on his jaws, “you don't even know who all is involved-!”

“Logan and Mike Princoff, Jake Evans, Jared McNeil-” he listed with ease, an anger shivering into his vocal inflections as oily tendrils washed over the hard surfaces of the room and even spindled through the cracks in the door to the hallway which only stirred further chaos outside, “some other related _bitch,_ I will destroy them all just as you would-”

“don't fuckin' compare me to you-”

“We are much in the same, Sans-” he growled, the bones in his body shifting as he straightened back up and tilted his chin to the air as he spoke, “-we have both survived a Genocide, we have the scars to prove it.”

A pang rang out through the skeleton, his fingers twitching in the pockets of his hoodie as he was left breathless yet the Lich pressed, “and now.. _I,_ will be the one to administer a cleansing.”

 

After that the skeleton left, without a word. Sans had teleported back into the hall on the other side of the locked, barred door but the Lich hardly listened to the discussion being held. They picked at his ethics, faulting him, defending him, shouting and rallying cries pierced through his facility yet they fell worthless on the deafened Lich. It was as if he were underwater, the noise was smothered beneath his suffocating presence, beneath the pain aching in his chest.

Further hours passed, an inner turmoil rolling within his hide to continue his hunt yet his feet wouldn't move. A pressure, beside the ones stemming from his magic, had welled deep within his chest and pounded in his skull behind his eyes. The lasting tinges of blood soaked along his jaws was not enough to satisfy him. The sickening, wet crunching of the human in his jaws was not enough to appease his fermented loathing. While his magic thrashed, flailed and slithered over the hard surfaces of the room there was a pounding on the door though the Lich couldn't hear it.

It was only until the door was kicked through the trim did he glance at the doorway, splinters of painted wood raining down into the room. An array of bony hands burst into existence around the room in angry positions as the flushed face of the detective stared back. His black mustache twitched as he took in what what going on in front of him, yet as the milliseconds passed on the scientist's unbridled magic seeped into reality and thrummed passionately through the air in a searing crescendo. Carl was startled by the shuddering lights and trembling hard surfaces, he was about to speak before a white hand grabbed his shoulder from behind and led him backwards from the doorway.

“Sir.. it is best to take Sans to the scene, he can help figure out what happened..” the stoat spoke gently through a pained wince, “there is nothing to be learned from here.. not right now..”

The Lich kept his blank gaze on the doorway, on the detective who met his eyes momentarily before Carl turned his attention to the bed. Ever so slowly the detective took a few more steps back, pure fear pulling into his facial expression. The violence of the scientist's magic ebbed as the man backed off and disappeared from view. The stoat held her hands in front of her stomach as she watched a conversation taking place off to the side, she was visibly unsettled by the effects of his magic on her soul yet he didn't bother to try reeling it in.

Gaster turned his gaze back to the bed, not bothering with the minute effort to close the door as the sun began to rise on the surface yet his body remained.. cold.

 

Later that morning the stoat returned, stepping carefully into the room and watching her feet to avoid the splinters of wood littering the floor as she gazed to the bed while rounding it to the scientist who genuinely ignored her. A hot, covered cup of coffee was clasped in her hands.

Softly clearing her throat she spoke, “perhaps you should take a break.. I can watch her while you.. clean up.”

The woman slowly turned her gaze up to the Lich who was immobile, her eyes trailing over his blood stained face, neck and chest that absolutely reeked of soiled blood. It made the woman's nose twitch as she nervously held the cup outward towards him, the soft steam of the liquid within dancing gently into the air as she murmured, “I know you love her..”

That word again.

It grabbed his attention.

Turning slowly towards the monster his eyes fell to her offering before drawing back up to her gentle features, she did not take back her gift and kept it held out for him as she went on, “and she cares about you too.. she would want you to not seem so..” the stoat swallowed, blood was smeared beneath his eyes and had seeped into the textures of his facial features, “-sickly, when she wakes.”

A deep exhale pressed from his lungs as he eyed the woman, his magic was thick in the air yet she braved it to try interacting with him. Why?

He stared at her with a hardened glare, dark red brush strokes having cracked along his face yet she merely broadened her smile and nudged the offering towards him again.

A few more moments of awkward silence went by before, ever so slowly, he extended his twitching digits towards the cup and took it from her. The scalding liquid drew gentle relief to his tense hand as she exhaled and lowered her arms as she kindly worded, “I promise I won't leave her side until you come back..”

The Lich stared down to her for a few more moments before he vanished, the twisting, sickening pressure in the room instantly lifting with his departure and made the stoat sigh loudly. Her hands went up to her face to rub her eyes beneath her red framed glasses, any more of that sensation and it would have given her a massive headache. Claire yawned softly as she adjusted her glasses and gently padded up to the machine, checking the woman's vitals before glancing down to her and frowned.

Blinking the stoat turned her attention to the far wall and snagged a high seated stool, dragging the thing over to the bed before plopping down onto it. She let her hands fall into her lap as she studied the bandages wrapped around the girl's head, trailing to the ones at her neck that were surrounded in the deep black marks of the Lich's seal. It seems as if that magic blocking serum had finally worn off, it was a good sign. The soft white sheets covering her frail form were a hard contrast to the beating this woman went through.. a silent anger of her own built in her bosom.

She knew what the blood meant, soaked and painted across the scientist.. for once in her life the knowledge of a creature's death didn't bother her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be out in a few days, still working on it but I'll release it right when it's ready.


	19. A Bloody Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The League of Extraordinary Assholes' plot is peeled away, the Lich hot on their trail while you are forced into recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is my birthday, I am 23 years old now, woohoo!  
> And for my birthday what could be a greater present than the act of giving? Here is the next chapter, a lengthy 22-23 pages.  
> I Love all the support, the comments, the interaction and fan art you guys bless me with. It makes this fan fiction really special for all the friends I've made through this writing. <3
> 
> Enjoy.~

Hazy, white, blurry textures sang to you as you began to wake.

You couldn't entirely feel your body but you began to filter in sound, voices were speaking in some unknown dialect to your brain but you listened blissfully. They sounded.. passionate.

A few more moments of this confusion passed, the blobs of shape tightening up as color seeped into your partial field of vision. Other sensations, such as the stickiness on the side of your head, the odd pressure of something over your nose, and the soft chill blanketing your arms began to bother you. A gentle sigh left your chest, still trying to process where, or even who, you were.

The voices grew louder as you laid there in the bright room, squinting further as your eyes slowly began to flick across the focusing room. Figures were standing off in the distance, they seemed so far away yet a white one was just beside you. A tinge of red over it's face.

Swallowing dryly the room felt as if it were spinning though the voices began to speak English, finally.

_'how is this already blowin' up all over the news-?'_

_'It seems as if there are multiple videos circulating online.'_

_'H-he ca-called th-the souls o-of nearly a th-thousand p-people..'_

_'How in the **fuck** can he even do that?!'_

Their conversation hardly made any sense to you. Your limbs felt light, airy, as you tried to focus on the snow white, shimmering, figure beside you as it spoke with a delicate tone.

_'Maybe it is best to have this conversation outside-?'_

_'We need to know more, **now** , before it continues to spiral out of control and we have mobs-!'_

_'ya really think people are gonna be that rib tickled?'_

_'Now now.. detective, we know there was a scene and it is imperative we get the full story only after she wakes up-'_

_'You should be having her wake up now, before that psychopath disrupts **this** investigation as well.'_

Psychopath..? Investigation..?

The last thing you remembered was the glint of metal, the humming in your skull.. The iron, scalding pain throbbing through your bruised body but through the pain you remembered the red stained expression of the Lich.

“G..” you murmured.

 

A blue figure suddenly appeared on the left of you, the voice was so familiar and baritone as it sighed, “kid, shit-”

Soft, small paws grabbed onto your hand on the other side. Your head tilting back towards the white figure as your vision continued to clear and waver, the features of the stoat being recognized in your brain with her red framed glasses nestled atop her snout as she murmured.

“Take your time.. you got hit pretty good..”

“Where..” you asked, deeply confused as you pulled your gaze down to your arm and focused on the IV set into your skin, “...am I.. in the hospital..?”

The deep voice beside you drew your attention over, meeting the white eyes of the skeleton as he stood with his shoulders back and chuckled, “sure.”

“..Sans?” you squinted, his smile growing deeper, his lids drooping as he nodded but you just went on, “I don't..”

Claire murmured as she hovered over on your other side, still holding your hand, “take it easy, you're still waking up-”

You shook your head a bit, the room finally beginning to really clear as you took in the skeleton before you and muttered into your mask, “I don't.. have health insurance.”

The room went quiet but Sans just began to chuckle, “you're on this health plan, dollface.”

Dollface..? wait.. _-face_.. There was something _on_ your face.

An irritated, tired sigh pressed through your throat as your free hand lifted to your mouth. Your fingertips brushed against plastic and gripped loosely onto it, dislodging the mask from your face your eyes drifted over towards your feet and found Asgore and Alphys standing at the doorway. He smiled down towards you while a man with a black mustache carefully stepped to your bedside next to Sans, you just glared at him. Your mind finding itself as you remembered Mr. Briggs, the winner of your 'ass-fetti' jackpot.

The words struggled to leave you as you whispered, “G .. d-didn't hurt me-”

“I know,” he stated, standing up beside the skeleton with his hands in his pockets, “we just need to know what happened, then you can go back to sleep-”

“I-.. I don't want to sleep..” you strained, attempting to shift but found Claire and Sans holding your shoulders back down. You whined at their intervention yet they just kept you down until you settled back in. You swallowed dryly before murmuring to no one in particular, “Where's G..?”

Claire kept her voice gentle as she replied, drawing your attention, “he will be back soon-”

“Which is why I need to speak with you,” Carl butted in, slowly you turned back to him as Sans removed his hand from your bicep and slipped it back into his jacket as the man went on, “what do you remember?”

“She still may need to rest,” the King said, stepping up to the side of the bed as he looked to you with clear worry gracing his features but you just met him with a gentle smile while Alphys strode up to the foot of the bed and nervously set her hands on the baseboard.

“y-you c-can still t-take your time..”

Your smile deepened, taking a moment to gather your thoughts as you flicked your gaze over your friends before beginning.

“I was.. looking for Jenny-” a twinge in your voice made you clearing your throat a tad before continuing, “Jake said she hadn't made it home..”

You missed how Sans and the detective looked to one another as you began to illustrate the scene to the best of your abilities. You went over how a girl ran into you, snatched your phone and bolted. You followed her into the alley and had to take pause, being sure to describe what happened in detail and even lightly moved your hand as you described slapping your assailant away.

“I was.. knocked back down..” you said, trying to focus, “he came at me.. but the other guy grabbed at his hoodie, it pulled the hood from his face and.. I saw Mike- Logan's brother..” Sans clenched his fists in his jacket as he listened, the detective staring at you as you slowly began to lift your free hand up into the air, looking towards the ceiling in memory. Alphys followed your hand upwards while everyone else just watched your lips.

“He tried to hit me.. so I-” with a twist in your back and stomach you gently pulsed your palm up at the ceiling, a bony apparition suddenly appearing right above your hand and made the entire room gasp. Sans' sockets went black, Alphys drew her hands up to her face and Claire only gripped to your hand a tad harder. You couldn't see the utter shock displaying on their faces as you murmured, the digits of the hand twitching along with yours, “tried to block him again, but he just.. broke it.”

You dropped your hand, the bony apparition hovering in standby as you panted lightly with the effort of speaking as you murmured, “then I got hit.. in the head, I guess.. I don't remember much after that..”

Asgore brought his hand up, stroking his beard deep in thought as the room stared at the bony apparition but before he could speak a hard, dark tremor pulsed through the room as the Lich landed just beside Claire.

His dilated, angry pupils flicked over the scene before him while he was just in a fresh turtleneck and slacks, his hands tucked in his pockets but one drew forth to the summoned hand in the air. This movement caught your eyes as you glanced over and breathed his name quietly, his eyes met yours as his claws touched the apparition and took control over the magic. The skeletal hand vanished as he lowered his claws, Claire jumped off of her stool and stood back for the Lich to take one good stride up to the side of the bed and gazed down to you. His white eyes flicking over your features critically.

The detective was in shock, as was Sans who was still staring at the air where the bony hand had been.

While you held the scientist's gaze your eyelids felt heavy but you stubbornly fought against the sensation, your other hand shakily lifting from your side to which he quickly pressed back down to the sheets as you swallowed dryly and whispered, “what happened..?”

“You disobeyed me,” he muttered, his mouth a hard line but you merely giggled.

“I did that to Sans too..”

“He mentioned it,” the Lich grumbled, his gaze flicking upwards as Asgore spoke.

“How long have you been able to use magic, Sun..?”

The words wouldn't really register in your tired mind, you wanted to just keep talking to the Lich instead but if he was looking away maybe it was okay for you to do the same..

Your eyes panned across the room to the King, the detectives eyes were wide as you murmured, “when Dennis' was running away after we caught him taking those pictures.. I just reached out and, boom.”

A smile was on your lips, the drugs in your system made you feel cold yet hazy enough to not even care. Ever so slowly Alphys dropped her hands from her mouth yet she was still completely speechless as she looked towards Sans, his black sockets staring into nothingness.

The King spoke gently, his gaze panning to the Lich who met his eyes with a developing glare, “if it wasn't for your magic slowing that pipe.. it is possible the blow could have..”

Sans blew out a breath between his teeth heavily, his attention turning to the bandage pressed to the side of your head. This new information wasn't settling well on his bones but he couldn't deny that you were.. beyond lucky. Yet, he couldn't help but feel agitated. You had magic all this time and never told anyone, not even him.

Carl spoke carefully, changing the subject, “wait.. Dennis? Dennis who-?”

Sans glanced to him, disguising his bothered state of mind,“mcneil.”

The Lich let out a heavy, irritated breath as he hovered above you with his fingertips still pressed into your hand to keep you still as the detective started to piece things together. Claire gently stepped to Alphys who turned her gaze to the stoat, the two women looking equally confused as Carl went on with his questioning.

“So this kid was taking pictures of you..? The ones in that gossip article-?”

You nodded absentmindedly, your eyelids slowly closing once more as a deep breath pulled into your lungs, the world fading as the man went on.

“That's Jared's little brother-”

“how'd you know that-?” the skeleton asked warily, mimicking the expression of the Lich as his brows slightly narrowed, his white pupils bouncing back into his skull.

“When I was interviewing Logan he had his friends there.. and his brother- wait-” the man sighed heavily, drawing a hand up to his face as he pulled his thoughts together and suddenly dropped his hand back down to spin out of the room, “fucking damnit.”

The King blinked as the man ran out of the room, panning his gaze out of the room as he witnessed the detective bolt for the lobby. He then turned to look at the skeleton as Claire awkwardly wrung her hands together while Alphys nervously adjusted her glasses and turned her attention to Gaster who ignored her gaze but yet kept his fingertips on your wrist.

“Care to fill me in?” Asgore murmured.

 

Gaster was silent as the two talked, Claire and Alphys throwing in a few statements here and there as they began to piece this plot together. The Lich already knew. He knew these men feared him for whatever reason, they had been baiting him, testing him, for weeks and had used her to try gaining more information or luring him out. They would get what they wanted, he would come for them. He couldn't allow them to live but he needed a lead, he would need to gather their scents and hunt them down.

In the middle of the discussion the Lich simply vanished, startling the others and drew a heavy sigh from the skeleton as he was sent on after him to the crime scene on Asgore's command. (It wasn't hard to guess where he went.) Claire was instructed to end her shift as the King walked out of the room with Alphys right at his side but instead she just sat back down on the stool, letting out a soft sigh as the facility fell quiet. She turned her gaze onto your limp form as she removed the oxygen mask from around your head, you weren't wheezing anymore and didn't seem to need it. As the woman settled in she brought a hand up and rubbed the back of her neck, her gaze drifting up to the bent needle still lying on the bedside table with dried blood coating it.

What an absolute mess..

 

It was a few more hours before you woke again, this time it was much easier to pull out of your distorted state as your eyes fluttered and took in the room with a deep inhale. The stoat grinned down to you as you ended up landing back on her expression and returned the smile as you murmured, “morning, Claire..”

She let out a breath, her grin deepening as she spoke, “afternoon, Sun.”

“Ugh.. I feel like shit,” you muttered, reaching a hand up to your face and frowned. You felt dirty, stained and oh so sore, especially in your sides and back as a soft headache pulsed behind your eyes. It was tolerable though.

“You should take it easy..”

Sighing you ignored her as you pulled yourself up into a seated position and she carefully helped you do so, you let a hand rest on your face as you gathered your bearings on the room and quizzically stared at the broken doorway.

“Did G do that..?”

Claire sighed and shook her head, “the detective kicked down the door, he thought that you needed to go to an actual hospital..” she snorted as you looked back to her, “Gaster merely struck a few of my technicians while rushing you in.”

“Ugh..” you muttered, shaking your head but the stoat gently laughed.

“They are all right, it mainly just startled them.. No one has ever seen him behave so.. erratically..”

“He was really upset, huh?”

“That's.. probably not the right word,” she murmured, her grin fading. She removed her hands from you as you glanced down and blushed before grabbing the white sheets and pulled them over your bare breasts. The stoat blinked at you as you turned flushed in the face and murmured.

“Can I.. can I have my clothes back?”

“You really need to be resting-”

“I can't just lay here all day..” you sighed, beginning to bite onto the inside of your cheek as the woman beside you studied your anxious expression while you went on, “I need to call Jenny.. I need to see where G is-”

“Relax,” Claire spoke, grabbing your attention as she murmured to you, her expression caring, “Jenny is fine.. it was a ploy to ambush you..”

You nodded slowly, processing this information as you felt sheer disgust rise in your gut. Jake had used her to get to you.. to get to Gaster.. but _why?_ Was it just baseless hate..? You should have trusted Sans, shouldn't have been blinded so easily by kind words.. live and learn, you supposed. An unsettling thought drew into your mind, if Jake had intentions to get you hurt like this.. what had he planned for Jenny?

Blinking you looked back to Claire and opened your mouth but she answered the question for you, “Jenny had no idea, he was never mean to her at any point in time or even suspicious. She knows his true intentions now though, everyone knows. They're trying to find where they all went while Logan is being locked down in the hospital. Gaster thinks he knows who else was involved but .. technically, he isn't supposed to be in public right now-”

“Why..” you asked, scrunching a brow warily.

“He.. publicly called the souls of everyone within a few blocks radius-” your eyes went wide as she continued, “-it caused a bit in damage from the chaos.. and he's a suspect in a homocide.”

A pang drove through your soul as you whispered, “he.. he killed someone..?”

“Allegedly..” she replied, yet her ears quivered as she sighed, “we all know he did though.”

“So.. I guess it was one of the people that attacked me, huh?”

She nodded, forcing you to ask the question, “..who was it?”

Claire drew in a breath and softly worded, “Beck, the detectives partner.”

“B-beck..?” you repeated, your eyes glazing over as you stared at the sheets, “why.. how many people are really behind all of this..?”

She shrugged, blinking to you as you sighed with your shoulders shaking. You felt tears drawing into your eyes as you lifted your hand back to your face, hiding behind your palm as the woman carefully spoke, changing the subject tactfully, “are you hungry..?”

You shook your head but she pressed, “if you eat something.. I'll ask that we get you some actual clothes, though Doctor Gaster may not be too pleased-”

“All right,” you nodded, wiping your eyes.

It scared you to know that Gaster was on the loose, you knew he was struggling with his anger and this could possibly send him off the deep end, it could get him into insurmountable trouble.. more than he was already in. You couldn't blame him for attacking, and killing, Beck.. they were trying to kill _you_ , after all. You don't know how he killed Beck.. but you knew that it wasn't clean, it wasn't.. humane. Like Robert.

You would have to get better, or have him fuss over your attempts to try, it was better than having him run amok and kept him from killing anyone else. What they did was horrible, and they should see Justice for their actions.. but violence would only feed the Lich's ferality, it would also label him as a serial murderer. Humanity wouldn't allow him to just get off the hook from doing something so.. cold, calculated and insidious.

If you could keep him calm and under wraps everything would sort itself out. Mike and Jake would get arrested, along with Logan and whoever else was involved.. including that girl. It would be over, nobody else should get hurt and prove the very prominent fear of Gaster that everyone seemed to carry. The very fear that had probably driven these people to this..

 

It wasn't too much longer before the stoat scampered back into your room, breaking you from your thoughts. You hadn't even seen any traffic pass by your door even though you could hear movement and talking in the distance. It was as if everyone was too scared to get close to your room but you tried to not think too much on it. Claire brought you a black container and sat down next to your bed with her own, it was a type of salad with salmon, spinach and other tasty ingredients such as strawberries. This meal was rather.. fancy for what you usually had which was usually just take out food, it brought a smile back to your face as the woman chatted with you idly.

Surprisingly, for not having an appetite, you cleared your entire meal in a breeze. The additional medicine being pumped through your veins made your wounds itch and sides and back tingle but Claire merely stated that it was normal, the healing substance from your IV was just assisting your body naturally repair the damage at a faster rate. Although, she still gave you a subtle dose of painkiller before she would remove the needle and let you get off of the bed.

Dizzy, border-lining a high, and feeling a tad embarrassed from your naked form you gently slid out of the bed with the help of Claire who hovered over you and made you take it slow. You watched your footsteps as she led you to the adjacent bathroom where you got a good look at yourself in the mirror and jolted at what you saw, not registering that the battered body you were seeing was you.

Blood had stuck and clumped all in your hair while a tight bandage was wound around your skull, another bandage was plastered onto your neck which was embroidered by your dark markings. Purple and yellow bruises coated your arms and sides, biting your lip you gently turned around and got a good look at your back where the pipe had nailed you and left a solid line of angry welts across your spine.

“It is lucky this human was relatively.. weak,” the stoat murmured before clearing her throat and motioned to the shower, “you can clean up if you want but do not remove your bandages, I'll have to redress them afterwards so it would be best if you kept your shirt off so I can quickly handle the wound on your neck.”

You nodded, watching her gentle features from the mirror as she finished up, “I'll have some clothes set out for you in a few minutes. Let me know if you need help-”

“I'll be fine,” you sighed, ripping your gaze from your reflection and stepped further inside as she left you to your business.

 

The hot water felt great on your cold body yet stung the side of your head, it was a bit of an unpleasant chore to clean your hair against the bandages but you just kept an eye on the color of the water until it was crystal clear. Furrowing your brow you thought back to your fight, the struggle. You remember hitting the ground and scraping up your arms but as you looked at them only faint red and purple lines remained, as if you had only gotten somewhat scratched up a few days ago. Odd, this medicine was truly something..

You didn't spend long in the shower as you soon heard voices out in the room. You quickly dried off and carefully got dressed, the stoat had somehow gotten a fresh change of clothes from your apartment. Just a dark baggy t-shirt, one of your favorites, and some lazy lounging sweat pants with plenty of pockets. Though the underwear that was retrieved made you blush a bit, you figured Gaster must have picked out the ordinary black matching bra and panties but didn't really question it.

As you stepped from the room, t-shirt folded up against your chest, you stood in shock for a moment as you saw Sans standing there, waiting for you.

“you all right there, doll?”

“Yeah, just a bit.. sore,” you struggled to smile, a flush drawing in your cheeks and he nodded as he watched you step into the room but he just motioned to the bed.

“sit down, I gotta change those dressin's.”

Blinking you scrunched your brow at him but slowly obeyed, favoring your one side a bit as you eased up onto the mattress and sighed, your hand tucking to your rib and held it as his hands went up for your skull. You closed your eyes as he pried away the bandages carefully, the t-shirt sitting on your lap, “where's G..?”

“you can't tell..? with your magic ability you didn't bother to tell me about.”

His voice was rather neutral but you grunted at him with irritation anyways, “I didn't want to say anything because you'd just chastise me for it-”

“magical seals kill people,” he muttered as he set the damp bandages on the table beside him and carefully began to remove the gauze which made you flinch at the sticky sensation, “we don't want you to get hurt, we want you to be able to come to us-”

“I do-”

“no, you don't,” he snorted, “if you would have came to us about jenny being 'missing' you wouldn't have gotten hurt-”

“I don't need to be baby sat-” you growled, he tried to speak but you just cut him off as his hands paused, “-you keep telling me I'm not stupid so don't keep treating me like I am.”

Silence. He went back to his work as he inspected the gash and found it to be already healing quite nicely, the precise sutures the Lich had done were immaculate, per usual, yet he still had to clean them. You weren't warned as the skeleton disinfected the area, a hiss drawing from your lungs as your soul gave a pained flutter.

Before your noise would even ebb away a deep, reverberating growl rang out in front of you though Sans didn't pause his motions as he muttered immediately, “somebody has to do it, claire passed out in the break room while you're on a psychopathic goose chase.”

“Guys.. don't start-” you murmured but only sighed as the scientist sneered.

“Perhaps if these humans were not so incompetent and persistent in their means to obstruct me this would be over by now.”

“ah, so, preserving a crime scene is 'obstruction'?” Sans mused as his motions caused you to flinch away from him, the stinging on the side of your head becoming irritating. He merely brought his free hand forward and cupped the side of your face gently, a flush building in your features as you felt a heavy, furious, pressure drum against your body though the skeleton was not fazed.

“you already killed beck-” the skeleton muttered as you bit down on your bottom lip, “-crushed his head with a bite. heh, yet you're still bloodthirsty.”

A dizziness was brought into your head at what you were hearing, you had a feeling it wasn't a good ending to the man and you were right. Luckily the skeleton had a good grip on you otherwise you would have started to sway.

“come runnin' in dripping with meat and blood like that, with your magic out of control, nearly killed the fallen in this ward though luckily they were far enough away that they didn't die too.”

“Your hypocritical, pathetic drivel is irksome,” the skeleton suddenly froze, “I do not care for your weak lines of morality and ethics..”

You continued to chew on the inside of your cheek, keeping your eyes closed as Sans slowly removed his hands from you and stepped away as you heard heavy footsteps and felt a large, clawed hand slip to the side of your jaw as the scientist inspected your wound while he continued, “I will escort them to the gates of hell personally.”

Flinching you opened your mouth to speak but was cut off as Sans released a breath, as if he had been holding it, into a slurry of words, “your fucking insane actions are already drawing us under heavy media fire, the public are scared shitless, the cops want you arrested-”

“Why is it that all you do is whine, Sans?” the Lich mused, irritation sparking in his tone as he had a summoned hand help bandage your head back up.

“you sick _prick_ I could give a shit less if they put _your_ head on a spike but everything you do reflects on her-!”

“Guys, knock it off-” you hissed, wincing as the bandage was tightened around your skull while the scientist muttered.

“Then they should know to fear the consequences of crossing me.”

His hand snaked under your jawline, pinching your mandible between his thumb and pointer finger firmly in order to tilt your head to the side for him, peering down at your neck while he removed the damp dressing. A shiver ran through your spine, flicking your eyelids open but only could see part of his chest and arm that was covered in a gray turtleneck.

“so what, you're gonna fuckin' track down every one of these guys and kill them just because they're scared of _you_ and went after _**her**_ _to get to_ _ **you**_ _?_ ”

“Precisely,” he snorted, eyeing the swollen bruise against your flesh bordering the terrible puncture wound before replacing the bandage on your neck with a fresh one.

“Don't-” you whimpered, your hand leaving the t-shirt and your side as you reached out and grabbed onto his shirt just against his stomach, “-Sans is right-”

He shushed you, the grip on your jaw tightening to an uncomfortable state but you kept yourself calm as you pressed on, “don't fucking ignore me, just let the cops handle it.. don't go after these people in the same exact way they went after you-”

“Ah, my darling..” his hot breath trailed across your exposed neck as he straightened up from your form and peered down to you, keeping your head tilted to the side as your eyes flicked up into his flat expression, “my intentions are much clearer, much more.. final.. than the ones they enacted.”

“G, please..” you murmured, holding his gaze with your own as your soul gave a flash of light within your chest. While there was no violet color to his eyes something.. darker.. was lying within his sockets, “revenge is not the way to go about it.. Sans. Is. Right.”

A heavy, reverberating snort beat through his lungs as he slowly released you and placed his hands in his pockets as you carefully straightened up and tightened your grip to his shirt, “just.. let them do their job and you do yours..”

His brows slowly began to narrow as you went on, “if it makes you feel better I can just stay here with you, I won't leave this room if you stay here too.”

A few moments of silence drew on as the Lich slowly inhaled, his expression softening but a light tug at the corner of his mouth made you blink as he purred, “ah.. my dear, of course you won't be leaving this room.”

You hardly had time to think as he drew his hands from his pockets and grabbed onto your wrists while numerous bony apparitions tactfully gripped at your body, avoiding your bruises. You yelped and weakly struggled in his grasp as he forced you down onto the bed on your back. You tried to cry out but were silenced by a skeletal hand pressing tightly to your lips, you heard a livid snarl shudder through the room but it was quickly silenced and instead the sounds of a wet, choking filled your senses.

Eyes wide, breath caught in your throat, you stared up into the face of the smirking Lich as he gazed down to you. He easily managed to subdue your struggles with his conjured hands, keeping you pinned to the bed as his true hands released you to turn back to the IV drip.

You tried to beg him to stop, to let you go, but your noises were muffled against the large hand at your mouth while the hard digits grasping your soft flesh left red marks along your skin from the struggle. He turned back to you with a replaced needle in his large digits as he leaned over the top of you intimately. The Lich cooed down to you, his magic gliding across your soul and reverberated down into the mattress as he slid the cold metal back into your vein before taping it down.

With his hands now free he braced himself over top of you, his face leering down towards you as he hummed in an eerie tone, “I know you I walked with you once upon a dream.”

“N-no,” you mumbled into the hand, your eyes wide and glistening with tears as you fought against the drugs pouring into your system.

“I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam,” he purred, his free hand trailing up to the side of your face to tenderly brush his fingertips along your soft skin.

You felt your racing heart subside as the medicine cooled your veins and made your eyelids heavy, stubbornly you continued to fight it but it was a losing battle as his hot breath wove through the bones of the skeletal hand which slowly began to release you before vanishing. The taste of scotch brushed against your partially opened mouth, unable to find the words as your body betrayed you.

“And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem,” he drew a tad closer, his mouth hovering above yours as he whispered while staring into your fading gaze.

“but if I know you, I know what you'll do..” you knew what he was saying, he didn't trust you anymore. The tears spilt from your eyes while your lids closed farther and farther, barely being able to see his devilish expression as he continued, “you'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.”

A gentle gasp leapt in your throat before he pressed down to your soft lips just as your mind faded into obscurity, your muscles unwound as you went limp beneath him. Gently he pulled away, the skeletal hands pulling a fresh sheet over your form just as his magic released the skeleton behind him who stood in absolute, horrified, disgust.

Shocked, Sans could only watch the Lich straighten up and turned to look over his shoulder toward him. The skeleton found his mouth moving, the words spilling forth as he murmured, “you're fucked up..”

 

***

 

Dennis had a relatively good night's sleep for once, the best he's had in a long time. His ear buds were firmly planted in his ears as he made a sandwich with left-over chicken from the other night in the kitchen, bobbing his head to the music and humming as he went about putting away his ingredients and turned around to the island counter hosting his lunch. Just as his hands went down towards his meal the front door slammed open. 

The teen raised a brow as he lifted his sandwich to his mouth and took a bite as his elder brother, Mike, Alise and Jake all tumbled inside. The shaggy haired boy looked absolutely pale, cold and clammy while the girl couldn't help but to speak as Dennis just watched the crowd head straight towards him though the girl kept her gaze focused on Jared as she whimpered, “I don't think you understand- that could have been  _ us- _ ”

“I know I was the one who fuckin' saw it-!” he snarled as he stomped up to the counter though Dennis just continued to chew while keeping his brow raised. His brother sat his palms straight down onto the counter and stared him in the eyes.

“Beck's fuckin' dead-”

He paused, nearly choking on his lunch as the girl blubbered with tears in her eyes, “you said we were just supposed to tell her about the warehouse-”

Mike suddenly lurched forward, slamming his fists on the counter and shook the plate there as Dennis managed to swallow down his food as he was yelled at, “if you would have fucking helped us we could have evidence of that fucker biting Beck's god damn head off!”

“Shut up, Mike!” the girl cried out, slugging him in the arm hard enough that he grunted and whirled around to face her as she had tears beading down her cheeks.

“You were the one hitting her, you fucking pig!”

“She was attacking us,  _ with fucking magic,  _ what else did you want me to do!?” the boy threw his arms out as Dennis took a step back as the scene only escalated, the girl yelling back.

“I saw her phone, she had a picture of them fucking _ cuddling _ and shit and-!”

“Oh so what, she's a monster fucker that FUCKED UP YOUR BROTHER!”

“HEY!” Jake shouted, shoving between the two and held them apart at arms length as Jared sighed in heavy aggravation with his hands against his face for a moment as the two continued to volley over the top of one another.

Alise snarled as she fought against the separation, trying to smack away Jake's arm, “yeah I was mad that my brother got beat up by a fucking  _ demon- _ ” she screeched, making the men wince, “-but you beat that poor girl-!”

“Oh miss high and mighty-!” Mike spat, keeping his gaze locked onto the woman as Jake tried to keep him shoved back, “-if it was so fucking terrible why didn't you try stopping me then, huh!?”

“I.. I got fucking scared-!”

“Oh boo fucking hoo-!” the teen was abruptly cut off as Jared slapped him upside the head and snarled.

“If you two don't shut the fuck up I'll hog tie you and leave you for the cops!” 

Jake slowly lowered his arms as the girl clenched her jaws and screamed into her mouth before whirling around and stomped away from the group while clutching onto her arms.

Dennis felt highly dazed from this random intensity, setting his sandwich back down onto the plate. His elder brother rounded the counter towards him as he spoke quickly, “we don't have a lot of time, Den-”

“Bro.. what did you guys do..?” he asked, his eyes wide while he slowly brought his hands up to his ears and dislodged his music.

“That plan went to total shit- she could use magic!” his brother rambled as the teen slowly bit into his bottom lip, he already knew this.. but he never told them. He hadn't told them anything.

“Shit got out of hand and that thing went ballistic-” the man grabbed onto the boys shoulders yet he tried to lean away from the wild expression of his brother, “it fucking.. it fucking shrieked into the sky like a fucking banshee, made the souls of everyone within a couple blocks burst out of their chest- it was the  _ craziest shit _ I've ever seen.. I.. I didn't know.. I didn't know that shit was  _ real. _ ”

The boy swallowed dryly, his attention solely focused on his brother as he rambled, “mine was.. mine was orange dude.. like.. what the  _ fuck- _ ”

Jake spoke up from behind them, “hurry it up, we gotta fucking bounce.”

Jared nodded, sweat building on his forehead yet he smiled like a mad man, “it fucked up though.. it fucked up and Den- Dennis.. If you come with us you can help us stop this thing-”

“No-” he tried but his brother just shook him as he went on.

“It pissed off a lot of people, we are so prepared for this thing now, we have so much help.. we need to take it down-”

“NO!” the boy yelled, shoving into his brother's chest and caused him to stumble back into the counter as the others looked directly at him, “I told you guys to fucking  _ leave him alone! _ ”

Jared just stared at him, his mouth agape as the boy finally spilled forth, “I was being patient with you fuck-tards! I thought that because Logan got his ass beat that you guys would fucking  _ stop..  _ now someone is dead, that girl-” he snarled “ _ -your girlfriends best friend _ , is probably now also in the hospital and you still want me to join along? You want me to help poke at a tiger and then pop a goddamn boner when it tries to fight back?!”

His heart was pounding in his chest, his hands clutching the air angrily before he made a lewd jerk off motion at his crotch and threw his middle finger into the air at them all, “you all can go fuck yourselves, you're all fucked up!”

With that the teen ducked out of the kitchen, out of the front door and slammed it behind him as he bolted down the sidewalk. He couldn't afford to be patient anymore.. he had to come forward and there was only one person he trusted enough for that. As he ran the boy dug out his cellphone and promptly clicked on a contact before pulling the phone to the side of his face, the choked up, whimpering voice of a woman spoke on the other line.

_ 'H-hey kid-' _

“Jenny.. I need to talk to you.”

 

***

 

When you woke, for the third time today, you growled and shook off your hazy confusion as quickly as you could. The lights in the room were dim yet you managed to still pull your gaze to your arm, shakily reaching for the needle and drew it from your arm with a whine.

That fucker.

You tossed the drip off the side of the bed as you rolled onto your side, hissing through your weak movements and pushed yourself up from the mattress with the sheets falling from your form. Somehow the t-shirt had made it's way onto you, it seems as if he merely wanted you 'out cold' and not truly, cold.

If he thought this would subdue you and make you just go along with his messed up plans to keep you 'safe', to enact revenge, he was dead wrong. You couldn't let him fixate on this. You'd have to break him out of it.

Even though your thoughts were valiant your body was still struggling to shake the sedative as you weakly threw your legs over the side of the bed, vertigo taking hold of your mind you were forced to sit and tremble for a moment. The railing of the hospital bed was at least down but it dug into the backs of your knees as you sat, gathering yourself. Drawing a hand up to your face you breathed in deeply and slowly let it out through pursed lips. You had no idea what time it was or how long you had been sleeping and it began to fester within your mind, irritation sparking determination as you hopped off of the bed and dropped the hand from your face.

Glancing around you could hear activity going on down the hall, voices you didn't really recognize. You straightened up your shirt and with a snort padded to the doorway, your eyes lingering on the splintered wood as you passed the threshold into the bright hallway. Squinting you slowly peered around, the lobby was to the right and the wards were further to the left. Wanting to avoid Gaster, as to not get shut back in that room, you took to the left and carefully padded down the hall. Your muscles felt stiff and a sore ache pulled at your side but you tolerated your discomfort, at least your headache was mostly gone.

As you walked you thought bitterly to yourself. If he wanted to force you to just sit like a good little dog he'd have to come and track you down in order to do so, a huff left your lips as you glanced around trying to figure out what time it was and what was even going on. The few technicians that you drew upon noticed your approach and hastily scattered. Raising a brow you picked up the pace until you were in a gentle, easy going jog. The pain in your side was flaring at this harsh movement but you just growled through it, no pain no gain.

Meandering around you tried to talk to any technician you could but they simply darted away from you or closed a door in your face. It was starting to truly aggravate you.

“The hell!?” you growled, placing your hands on your hips as you glared at a supply closet a lizard technician has locked themselves in.

A soft gasp sounded behind you and you whirled around, your eyes narrowed but eased your expression as you saw Claire slipping up to you. Her coat was wrinkled and she was adjusting her glasses on her snout as she spoke, “what are you doing out of bed?”

“Claire, I've been sleeping all day- mostly against my will-” you breathed, your frustration showing as you quickly went on, “-I need to keep him from trying to hurt anybody else-!”

“Sun,” she began, raising a paw towards you to try settling you down, “by order of the King you are supposed to stay here, preferably in your room until you've recovered.”

“I'm fine-” you growled, balling your hands into fists as she hardened her stare and took a step forward.

“You have head trauma, bruising and a fractured rib- you should not be moving around so abruptly.”

You continued to argue, “sure, I'm sore and it hurts but I'll get over it, I'm going to go crazy in there- why won't anybody talk to me?”

The sound of the door opening behind you made you glance over your shoulder, meeting the large eye of the lizard monster before the door slammed shut again. Baffled you exclaimed, “seriously!?”

Claire set her hand on your arm to draw your attention back to her, she could tell you were getting upset so she gently spoke, “they've been ordered to stay away from you-”

“Why?! What did I do-?”

The stoat gently turned, facing down a new corridor and you followed her lead as you both began to walk through the adjacent hall, “Doctor Gaster is.. unpredictable right now.”

A heavy sigh pulled through your nostrils as you looked to the floor as you stepped, murmuring, “what is he doing now?”

“A.. lot,” she sighed through her tiny canines.

 

***

 

“Hey!” the uniformed detective shouted at the Lich but he simply continued to ignore the man as he barged straight into the secure, taped off crime scene for the third time today.

The skeleton was right on his heels, eyeing the monster as he strode to an officer taking pictures of a cellphone laying on the ground. The monster caught the woman's eye as she growled, “come back to touch more of the evidence? You know this is a crime scene that _you_ were a part of!”

He merely placed his palm directly on her face and threw her aside, the woman stumbling as the Lich crouched down to the asphalt and studied the plastic beneath him. The device was face down, the scent of blood so strong in the alley it was hard to pick up this subtle, feminine trace. The only human he didn't have a name for.

Gaster drew his hand forward, gripping the edges of the device with his claws as the woman tried to berate him but he ignored her, focusing in on the phone as he plucked it from the course ground and drew it up to his face while his eyelids drooped and jaws parted. While he inhaled the skeleton sighed off behind him while glancing up to detective Briggs.

“sorry, pal.”

The man sighed deeply, running a hand over his face as they both looked to the Lich with the female officer folding her arms across her chest, glaring down at the beast with the camera gripped tightly in her hand against her bicep. Carl took a moment before speaking, “I guess he will lead us to these assholes in the end.. fuckin' Beck.. I had a feeling he hated monsters but didn't think he would do something like this..”

Sans shrugged, “it's always the ones you least suspect..”

The two fell silent for a moment as they studied the back of the crouched scientist before Sans spoke back up, “we already got names of most of the others.. but our leads dropped off, too many scents in the streets.. we can't pin down where they went.”

Carl sighed heavily, “It's like they vanished, we can't get a trace on any of them either.”

“..jenny didn't know where they went?” the monster flicked his white pupils over to the man as he slowly shook his head.

“She has my number if anything else comes up.. she just wants to see Sun- I mean-”

The skeleton chuckled, drawing his focus as he murmured, “it's all right, pal. I think she prefers that nickname anyhow.”

While these two talked idly the Lich's claws tapped against the lock button on the cell phone, the screen lighting up through the cracks in the screen and drew his gaze. A gentle huff blew through his jaws as he adjusted the device in his hand, drawing another round of angry berating from the officer beside him but he was hardly aware of her existence. Bringing his thumb across the screen he opened up the phone and came face to face with an image, it made him pause. His jaws slowly closing while his undamaged brow rose.

He was seeing her.. and himself.

Soft blue hues were caressing the side of her smiling face, her jawline tilted upwards as she held her face upwards against his own. Their eyes were closed, they were at peace. Naked and warm amidst the raging storm outside. He hardly recognized the monster before him as his brow drew back down, the hard line of his mouth pulling across his face into a subtle frown as he was sucked into this scene, into this memory.

The woman's irritated voice drew the skeleton's gaze back over to the crouched monster, seeing the spinal vertebra sticking up from the ribbed turtleneck covering his awkward, painfully sharp position. The detective gently spoke back up through her grating, obnoxious attempts at a lecture.

“Not only is the media, and the public, in an uproar right now..” Carl stated, “but there is even a call to action against him, it isn't.. looking good.”

“a call to action..?” the monster muttered, raising a brow.

“The internet has labeled him as.. a Reaper. A Revenant. People are scared, they took his.. 'power' to call out souls as a terrorist threat.”

Sans gently nodded, suppressing the shudder from the light scurrying of moths inside of his rib cage. He hadn't noticed they were there at first, but as the day drew on he realized what they were and while he preferred to not have anything to do with the Lich's magic he felt as if he had no choice. Speaking was faster than signing and the scientist had no patience, or real intent, of cooperation.

“Some are even calling him a demon from hell.. there is a lot of backlash we are trying to keep under control-”

“asgore is pretty good about keeping the peace-”

“You monsters underestimate the violence of mankind..”

Sans snorted, “hardly..”

Gaster was perplexed by this feeling in his chest, this warmth clashing against his vicious, furious magic surrounding his soul as he stared at this image. Curiously his thumb panned to the side and only came face to face with numerous pictures that only made this feeling stronger, a pressure building in his sockets until he quickly clicked the lock button and shut the screen off. He remained crouched, breathing harder than he remembered, lost to himself.

“Just try to keep him from killing anyone else,” the detective murmured, “technically this can fall under self defense, but anything else.. my hands are tied. They'll lock him up and throw away the key, specialty magic jammers are already installed in most government buildings. He wouldn't be able to just leave that cell through any ability.”

The skeleton exhaled, the soft wind trailing through his teeth as he nodded, “find 'em before he does then.”

“Aren't you supposed to be distracting him, keeping him away from all this?” the man grumbled.

Sans deadpanned, “d' you wanna watch 'em? I'll trade ya'.”

The man smirked, drawing his hand back up to his face to stroke the sides of his mustache down but secretly was trying to hide his amused expression, “I got enough officers to babysit..”

Gaster shook his mind free, exhaling with a light, tumbling growl as he turned the device in his hand and parted his jaws again as he breathed in and ran his tongue over the scents of this cellphone once more. He could taste his mate but also this other woman, the tinge of vanilla slipping over his taste buds. It was so incredibly subtle and hard to truly pick up, starting to irritate him once more he brought the device closer to his jaws as the woman snarled beside him.

“ya'll gon' fuckin' just waste my time today? Put that back down-!”

Her incessant nagging did not even slow his movements as his jaws further parted, his tongue slipping from deep within his throat as he ran his oily, inky black tongue across the hard shell casing of the device. Flavors sparking at his palate as the officer gasped.

“ _oh heellll nah,_ you're contaminatin' our evidence again! What the- Jesus, lord in heaven, save me from this demon,” she exclaimed, running her hand over her face heavily.

Carl groaned as he dipped his head down into his hand, “he's licking something else now isn't he?”

“yep.”

Drawing his tongue away from the device he slowly closed his mouth, ruminating on this new information he pushed the images from her phone out of his mind yet this tension in his chest quivered with an importance he did not understand. He could not understand. He would not think further on. There was something else far more dire at hand than these odd experiences, these odd tugs, sensations. Standing back up he kept the phone held in his hand before he pocketed the device with the officer reaching her hand out towards him as he turned away from her.

“hey-! Y'all put that back-!”

The woman struck her hand up in the air, staring incredulously at the monster as he made his way through more detectives, shoving them out of the way as he carefully ghosted through the scene on chase of this scent, going over what could have happened in his minds eye. The officer just shook her head and walked away, “fuck dis shit, I gotta get dis developed anyways-”

“Officer Lucas!” Briggs called, a smirk on his lips as he watched the woman strut by them as she ranted.

“I'm sorry chief, I can't handle all this shit- monster lookin' like some kinda anti-christ all up in my crime scene- lickin' blood and shit-”

Sans couldn't help for his own grin to deepen as well as the two watched her parade out of the alley to the street, waving her camera idly in her hand as she continued to sass and rave. The two turned back to watch the Lich pace around the scene, his jaws slightly parted as his white eyes flicked across the ground and the alley before he stood still and panned his gaze up to the bend of the brick wall.

This female human had ran before blood was spilled, explaining why it was so difficult to pick up on this scent.. He found his claws clicking in his pocket against the device as the detective and Sans carefully strode over to him, being mindful of the evidence as Sans spoke.

“got a line, doc?”

“This female.. she used her own cellphone to lure her into the alley, perhaps a bait and switch-” he mused, his eyes panning down to the blood splatters off to the side on the asphalt where she had been laying, “this human witnessed the violence escalating, yet had her hands on the screen of her device. She was either snooping or possibly was going to leave information on it, a message for me-” he growled, his syllables popping against his canines, the noise drawing everyone's silent attention as he spoke out loud to himself, “-at any rate, she fled before the blow was done unto her skull. The scent of blood drowns her trail but I know what she smells like, vanilla.”

Sans turned to Carl and gently translated, the detective drawing a pad out from his pocket and scribbled down these notes as the Lich's eyes suddenly dilated. A pull drew on his magic.

She wasn't asleep for nearly as long as he had hoped, her soul was truly being stubborn.

 

***

 

You had your hand extended, a bony apparition mirroring your movements as you walked down the hall with Claire. She had begun asking you about your abilities and you figured the best way to explain was to show it to her.

“I can't control two at once very well but I can pick stuff up and use my phone with one,” you shrugged, flexing your digits which the apparition followed perfectly as the stoat stared at the hand before the both of you.

“But.. if they used a magic jamming injection how could you-?”

Sighing you decided to just come clean, glancing over at her, “while they blocked the magic on my shoulder I still have a tiny bit in my hand, and my soul.”

You turned your palm towards her, showing her the black slash mark though her whiskers shivered as her eyed widened, “y-your.. your soul..?”

Nodding you dropped your hand, the bony apparition waving into nothingness as you explained what happened when you first met Gaster. He left a glob of his magic on your soul, it was the residual effect of him pulling himself from the void though you weren't entirely sure why he left it there. You hypothesized that's how you were able to share energy with him, this made the stoat's eyes widen further yet you casually kept explaining that you were fine with his magic being within you. You shared a symbiosis where the Lich could feed from your exorbitant amount of energy and you were able to use his magic in return.

Though just as you finished up your explanation you were stopped by a large, domineering presence appearing before you. Jolting your gaze upwards you both halted though the stoat stopped faster than you did, her eyes glancing up nervously through her glasses at the stern expression of the Lich. Soon after you saw Sans burst into reality just off to the side of the monster, slouching and looking exhausted as you glanced over and caught his eyes while the scientist growled.

“What are you doing..?”

Snorting you looked up to Gaster and folded your arms, resting on your hip slowly as the ache in your side was growing stronger but like hell if you'd let it show, “whatever I want.”

He held your gaze as you two stared into each others eyes, a battle of wills clashing and drawing tension in the hallway as Sans and Claire could only watch the interaction.

“What-?” you spat, “it's what you do.”

“Do not force my hand,” he muttered, the skeleton carefully stepping up to the group as we went to speak but you cut in.

“How about this.. How about we play a game, yeah-?” his gaze only became cold as you sassed, “-just like old times.”

The stoat nervously grasped her hands together as she glanced between the two of you along with Sans' whose white eyes flicked quickly in their sockets as you went on, “if you can guess what I'm thinking of I'll go back to my room, nice and quiet-like. I'll lay there and be a, Good. Little. Girl.”

You enunciated with a purr though he was unfazed, his jaw only clenching as a silence fell on the group.

Taking his silence as a passive go ahead you tilted your head to him and waited, your lids drooping while the muscles in your legs slowly began to tense beneath your calm outer appearance. After a few moments of silence the monster hunched over top of you as he took a step forward and murmured just under his breath, “you will run from me.”

“Tcht,” you rolled your eyes as he hovered over you, the heat from his body tickling your skin as you lifted a hand and waved it, “how could I possibly out run you..? You'd just teleport to me anyways and it would be a big waste of-”

You bolted.

Spinning around in the other direction you sprinted with all your might down the hallway, Sans and Claire whirled around to watch you go, clearly stunned yet the Lich just sighed. The noise rattled through his throat. Of course.

A grin tugged at your lips as you slid around the corner and suddenly jumped to the side, having expected him to try appearing before you and he did. You gazed upwards and flashed him a smile as he glared to you, he was fast about trying to reach out and grab you though you just spun into your step, throwing your hand out and slapped his hands away with a bony apparition. You left him stunned as you ducked through a break room, remembering how you ate ramen in here the day before.

The technicians that were in here jumped from their seats and pushed away towards the wall as the two of you barreled inside. You had no choice but to jump and slide over a table as the Lich was right on your heels. He wasn't expecting you to be so.. exuberant. The table was knocked clear out of his way, clattering violently across the floor into another table as he drew in closer.

You could hear him snarl behind you, the lights in the ceiling flashing as a deep thunder rolled into your spine from behind as you flung yourself through the opposite doorway and grabbed the trim of the door to help swing you around the wall. Your quick movement jerked your form just out of reach, the monster's claws grazing your shirt as you simply just began to laugh. Kicking off of the solid floor you made a mad dash towards the lobby, you could feel him gaining but kept up your determined sprinting.

Matching your wild pace the scientist tensed his calves and pushed from the floor before flinging himself through the void momentarily, his arms slipping around your waist as he spun around you and stumbled to a halt as his momentum carried the both of you into a twirl as you laughed. Gripping onto his arms your hair softly swayed over your features as he held you against his chest and came to a stop, the light dizziness swirling in your eyes only made your giggles louder.

Claire and Sans slid out into the hall from the break room and gazed towards the lobby, lightly panting as they watched the scientist man handle you so you were draped in his arms bridal style though you just kept laughing.

“Losing your touch, G?” you mused, grinning up into his rather angry expression though while he watched your hair loosely fall away from your blissful features he found this thrumming, warmth spread into his chest and wound a tightness through his ribs. It was similar to the sensation from seeing those images.. yet he pressed these intriguing sensations down. He remained silent.

“Don't be mad at me..” you sighed, gripping onto his turtleneck as he continued to glare, “I don't want to be locked up in here.. I want to go home.”

He snorted, lifting his gaze from you as he begun to step back into the hall. It felt as if he was gliding over the floor, the ache in your side twisting painfully from your rampant attempt at playing. You pushed down a whine as this discomfort settled in as just kept your eyes on his features, trying to talk yourself out of this, “lets just go back to the underground, you and me..”

The Lich was quiet as he carried you through the hall, ignoring the two monsters as he passed them by back to the broken doorway of your room with the lights dimmed inside, just how he left it.

“G, you can't-”

“I can, and I am,” he snapped.

Your gentle smile faded, your eyes widening as you balled his shirt up into your fist as he brought you back into the room, “I'm _fine_ , let's just forget all of this-”

Panic began to set in as he laid you back down on the bed and you reached up to grab the side of his face with your free hand, your eyes catching him as he loomed over you on the bed as you rushed, “this isn't how you show someone you care about them-!”

His eyes narrowed as his pupils dilated, muttering lowly to you while Claire and Sans stood in the doorway, equally as nervous as you were, “be quiet.”

Your fingertips dug into his skin, feeling along the sharp structure of his jawbone as you whispered, “don't leave me here..”

A slow, deep breath pressed from his jaws as he watched your expression. He could feel your soul pounding along with the racing of your heart, noticing how your throat was strained against a suppressed whimper. The winch in his chest tightened further and further as he took in the gentle gleam of your eyes, his claws twitching into the sheets on either side of you.

You repeated this mantra, your voice trailing to the slightest, barely audible wisp of breath through your lips while your hand trembled against his face yet his expression would not break.

Desperate for any sort of reaction you tried, “If you love me you won't do this..”

His undamaged brow furrowed deeper as he murmured, “what does that mean..”

Your breath caught in your throat, staring up into his frustrated expression for a moment as Claire and Sans gave each other a sideways glance.

He spoke a bit louder, “What does level of violence have to do with this?”

“L-level of-..?” you murmured, shaking your head slightly side to side as he bore down to you, his hot breath brushing over your face as you whispered into his inhale, “n-no.. G, l-love is wh-when you care about someone more than yourself.. th-there are different levels o-of love, like how Toriel loves Frisk a-and how I..”

You swallowed, his stern expression not seeming to register what you were saying as you sighed and quickly recovered, “it m-means y-you're really, really attached to someone.. y-you do things for them without expecting anything in return. Y-you have.. _chemistry_ , with someone else. Does.. does that make sense.. G?”

He breathed slowly, deeply, as he studied your expression and processed what you were saying to him. He had been mistaking status levels with a human emotion, affection.

A tense few moments went by as he eased himself up off of you but you merely pulled at his shirt with both hands desperately as you tried to sit up but found bony hands pushing your shoulders carefully back down. Arms extended before you, refusing to let go, you shivered while your vision blurred as the bright, piercing eyes of the Lich gazed down to you, “stop- _Stop_ doing this, you already rescued me, it's over! Let them do their job and go back to yours-!”

“I am doing my job, my dear,” he murmured, an odd wavering in his vocal chords as he brought his hands forward and gripped onto your wrists. He pulled your hands away from his chest as he continued to straighten up. Bony fingers gripped into your legs, into your waist, to keep you down as you tried to struggle against them as he stated, “you will stay here-”

You shook your head, trembling as he slowly continued to push your hands away from him, studying your face with a blank expression as a pair of bony apparitions grabbed your forearms just beneath his true hands, “-you will heal-”

Trying to tell him no, trying to convince him, simply fell on deaf ears as the stoat brought a hand up to her chest and blinked rapidly. Sans' lids drooped further, his jaw clenched as they continued to watch this disaster.

The hands took your arms to your sides as further apparitions snuck up from underneath the bed and began to strap your wrists to the railing of the frame that had been lowered into place. Your eyes widened as you broke contact from his gaze and watched with horror as he bound your wrists down with thick, heavy bandages. Amidst your fearful, begging pleads he continued to murmur, “-then, once this filth is handled, and only then.. can you go home.”

“No, no-no.. G-!” you cried, tearing at your arms as he stepped back, “don't leave me here like this- stop doing this to me!”

Rage consumed you as the tears spilled from your eyes, your jaw tightly clenched as the Lich pulled his gaze away from you and tossed something idly onto the bed beside your leg but you just kicked the thing off the side of the mattress. Plastic clattered onto the floor as he stepped to the doorway in which Claire and Sans quickly backed out into the hallway as you thrashed, _“you're making me fucking hate you!”_

You managed to wriggle down on the bed during your frantic attempts to free yourself.

He paused, partially out of the door and spat, “you will get over it.”

A harsh, ragged, frustrated scream tore through your throat as you kicked your leg out and loudly clattered the baseboard as you yelled after him, “ _you_ _ **prick!**_ ”

While he just stepped from view you continued to wildly tear at your arms, twisting your body painfully as the ache in your side became stabbing and eventually forced you to quell your struggles as tears slipped down your cheeks hot and livid. Shoving your head back against the pillow you tried to suppress your emotions, tried to keep them down, but the more you blinked the hazier your vision became and boiled your infernal frustration. A harsh twinge pulled at your neck as a sob fumbled through your windpipe, shutting your eyes tightly you pressed your face to the side of the pillow to try to stifle and get control of yourself but you just couldn't. A wheezing, strained, whimper rode on your heaving bursts of breath as you lay in the dark, your bonds digging angrily into your flesh.

 

Standing in the hall Claire turned her gaze away, blinking away her own tears as she distractedly rubbed at the side of her face while removing her glasses from her snout. The Lich gazed down to Sans, sweat glistening down over his porcelain features, he had nothing to say. Gaster then flicked his eyes over to Claire and spoke as a bony hand set on her shoulder, “sedate her if need be.”

The stoat swallowed and quickly wiped at her eyes before looking up to the Lich, her red frames held idly in her hand as she nodded but quickly spoke, clearing her throat with a light cough as she worded, “I saw the news, if you do this.. there is no coming back, people will try to hurt you-”

“Let them,” he stated, holding her gaze with a bored expression as whimpers trickled into the hallway. Sans found himself gazing back into the dark room, a pang aching in his ribs and throat as the scientist continued, “I will destroy them all.”

Claire took a rough step forward, her brows scrunching as she raised her voice, “you're destroying _her!_ ”

Gaster's undamaged brow began to narrow once more, his mouth a hard line as her words cracked with emotion, “this is hard enough on her having been attacked, having to cooperate with us while we try to take care of her- how can you be so cold!?”

He didn't respond yet the hand dug it's fingertips tighter to her shoulder as she blinked rapidly and glared with defiance up into his white pupils, “I don't understand how someone like her could ever stand to be with someone as broken as you-! She need you right now, and you're abandoning her to be by herself in a hospital.”

The skeleton drew his gaze back to Claire, his eyes widening in shock as the dark magic of the Lich radiated outward and pressed on the both of them as his aggravation grew though this would not silence the woman as she continued, “I know you're incapable of loving someone but she obviously cares a helluva lot about you, think of the consequences your actions have on her-!”

She was abruptly cut off as the Lich lunged forward with a snarl, grabbing her neck and hoisted her off of the floor into the air. Her red framed glasses clattered to the floor loudly, bouncing and spinning off to the side. His free hand twitched violently in the air beside him as the woman grabbed onto his wrist and gasped, desperate for air as her clawed feet kicked with her tail lashing wildly behind her. His voice carried with such gravity that it shuddered her very soul, “silence.”

“put her down-!” the skeleton snarled, rushing forward with an array of bones materializing at his extended hand behind him though his motions were halted as black magic surrounded his soul. Sans struggled against the hold, his body shaking as he could only watch the stoat struggle in the Lich's grasp though she kept her glare as she winced and managed to spit out.

“t-that's.. r-right-” she hacked, trying to kick out at him but was held much too far away, “f-feed y-your L-LV.. n-not l-love, n-not .. c-compassion, y-you b-beast of sin.”

With a great throw his arm he tossed her against the wall, a loud thud reverberating through the hall as she squeaked and fell to the floor, panting and reaching up for her neck through the tears pricking at her eyes as he sneered down to her, “correct, I _am_ made of sin.”

Sans fought valiantly against the grip on his soul yet it was no use as the bones he had materialized shattered to dust and fell to the floor while the Lich crouched down in front of the stoat. Resting on the balls of his feet with his elbows on his knees, he murmured, “I am the perfect monster to bring judgment.”

He reached a hand out towards her face as she jolted her eyes upwards and reeled back from him yet he just rested his digits against the side of her face tenderly as he cooed, “it is good to know you are so fond of her-” he patted her cheek, the act dripping in condescension and made her glare deepen as he then stood back up and walked away from them down the hall as he spoke over his shoulder, “-please, save me a slice of cake from your pity party.”

A dark, warbled chuckle wrought through his chest before he vanished and Sans was released from his grasp. Gasping deeply the skeleton fell forward onto the floor, catching himself on all fours as the stoat gathered herself and quickly moved to his side. Her red glasses forgotten on the tile. She helped the monster back onto his feet and heard him snarl, “this isn't going to end well..”

The stoat nodded, swallowing against the ache in her throat, “there are already so many call outs going on in the media, people are furious and if he's taking it this far-”

The skeleton flicked his gaze to hers as he murmured, “he's going to get a lot more people killed..”

She nodded gravely, removing her hands from his jacket as he rolled his shoulders and spoke while he extended his hand, “i'll see what asgore wants us to do..”

“Good idea,” she lightly jumped as she found her fuzzy vision focus in on red framed glasses floating in front of her, tinged with a plasma-esc blue hue around them. Tentatively she took the frames and sighed thankfully, the blue magic vanishing from them as she slipped the frames back onto her snout, “j-just text me.. I'll be here-”

He quickly nodded, flicking over her features for a moment as he sighed, “thank you.”

A soft exhale pressed through her nostrils, merely nodding as he vanished and she quickly darted back into the dark room to find your attempts to shimmy and tug out of your bonds with tears streaming down your face. Your throat was continued to whimper as you struggled, not even noticing the stoat until she sliced the bandages from the bed on the far end. Your eyes widened as you jerked your gaze to the other side and watched as she ran around the other side and cut off those bandages as well with a scalpel. You found your body sitting up, your limbs shaking though you didn't have much time to process what was happening as she hopped up onto the bed and pulled you towards her in an embrace.

Her soft cheek grazed yours while her clawed paws dug into your back, your lungs still heaving with silent sobbing though this act made them come forth with a vengeance as you wrapped your arms around her tightly and repeated how sorry you were. You knew he hurt her, you had heard everything but she just shook her head and shushed you.

She held you for some time until your cries died down and all that was left was gentle, shaky inhales before she murmured, “I'm sorry too, hun..”

Your tears came back, as did hers.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMM WHATCHA SAYYYY  
> MMM THAT YOU ONLY MEANT WELL
> 
> BUT THEN YOU SANG A CREEPY LULLABY TO ME WHILE DRUGGING MY ASS UP ON PAINKILLERS
> 
> Yeah he still never let that go 8)


	20. Mystery and Medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster continues his own investigation while you are stuck at the facility, much to your annoyance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be out soon within the next day or so, I'm still writing it out, but this part is polished and ready.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Also, have a picture of our favorite Lich (drawn by me):  
> http://allocatealoe.tumblr.com/post/143412608176/youve-got-the-gun-in-your-hands-i-know-youve

All of that crying had given you such a pounding headache and with your consent Claire set you back up on the IV, it was only a few more minutes of this pain before it started to ebb as you laid there with your eyes closed. The bed was raised so you weren't flat down, that helped ease your worry of falling asleep.. you really, really, didn't want to sleep the entire day away.

As you settled down, waiting for the medicine to kick in Claire's gentle voice murmured down to you.

“I dated an otter once,” she began, a smile cracking on your lips, “he always wanted to hold my hand.”

The throbbing behind your eyes was giving way to a cool, silken sensation that slipped through your veins and allowed you to relax as you listened.

“He had-” she grinned, “-the cutest white peppering in his fur, especially around his muzzle.”

“What happened..?” you smirked, cracking an eye open as you peered over to her. She was looking off at the far wall, the lights still dim to help ease your near migraine.

“Oh, things just didn't work out. I moved to New Home right off the bat with everyone else and he stayed behind in Home. We were both doctors so the cities needed us to split apart.”

A soft frown crossed your lips as she looked back to you and just kept smiling, “it's not a sad story, we were better friends than lovers.”

“You weren't sad about leaving..?”

She shook her head, “well, I mean, he was a good cuddler but he was always just so.. nice. Sickly sweet, as I like to put it.”

“Didn't think you were into bad boys, Claire,” you chuckled, the vibrations clattering around your skull.

The stoat playfully glared to you, her tail flicking behind her as she sat poised on the stool with her hands in her lap, “hey, all girls like a little excitement.”

A soft giggle drew between the both of you as you let your eyes close once more, basking in the sweet relief drawing into your skull but you wished it would set in a bit faster. The woman at your bedside noticed your strain and spoke up, trying to distract you, “Bill was a nice guy, sweet.. gentle.. he would be a good family man. I just wasn't ready to settle down, being young and adventurous I wanted a good drama that would make a good story to read at night.”

You smiled deeper, listening as she sighed blissfully before going on, “now, Ellis, he was my adventure. He was a tom cat with these big blue eyes and smoke clouds trailing out of his nose all the time, he stunk but it was a stink that always managed to find me.”

“A smoker, huh?” you murmured, she nodded as she trailed her gaze over the room.

“He was always huffing and puffing, I would tease him about being a wolf instead of some.. alley cat. He was always getting into scraps and I- of course, had to keep patching him up at the insta-care center.”

“Sounds like a piece of work,” you smirked, shifting against the mattress before settling as she giggled.

“Oh, that he was. But something about those baby blue eyes-” She paused, ruminating before she exhaled, “on my way home from work I saw him getting into a scrap with these two other monsters, I'm not sure what they were as they looked pretty hybrid but, boy, I don't think those guys have ever seen how mean a weasel could be.”

The tone of her voice became smug, a smirk drawing at her lips so heavily the points of her canines showed from her lips but you only noticed her way of speech as she carried forth, “Ellis was pretty peeved that I stepped in but I got him to shut his trap and followed me home so I could patch him up as it was closer to my flat than the hospital.”

“He try smoking in your place..?” you snickered as she sighed in aggravation.

“Yes, of course,” she drew, rolling her eyes, “I had to throw two butts into the sink before he gave up, though only because he ran out.”

“Of course-” you giggled.

“Yeah, though at least he let me take care of his bruises and scrapes. He had a few good scars going as his fur wouldn't grow there, most of them were on his arms but he had a good nick on his ribs. Never did tell me what fight caused that one, he merely just showed off that he pulled himself back together with _'a fishin' hook and a string, wit' a dash of vodka, Clairece.'_ ”

“Clairece?” you giggled a tad harder though she joined you, the vibrations in your head ebbing away with your submitting headache.

“Oh, he always called me that to just piss me off though it just became a bit of a pet name..”

“He didn't go home that night, huh?” you teased, your lips pulling deeper into your cheeks as you cracked your eyes open and glanced at her. The woman's neck fur was pretty fluffed up around her round cheeks as she nervously laughed.

“H-he caught me off guard is all. He stood up real hard-” she mimicked his actions the best she could as she straightened up in her chair and waved her hand in imitation while she changed her voice, “' _-babe, you gotta not stick yer twitchin' lil' nose in guys' bizzness,'_ but I just held my ground, he was trying to intimidate me so I just looked him straight and the eye and I said to him, 'if you would stop making it my business, having me save your ass and patch you up, then I wouldn't have to see your slang whipping face!'”

“Hooo,” you murmured, your eyes opening farther as you watched her brave expression.

It was as if she was reliving the memory as she folded her arms over her chest and ruffled up her fur while she reenacted, “ _'nows you see here, lil' thang,'_ and he walks straight up to me, stinkin' of smoke and booze as he hovers up against my shivering whiskers and mutters-” she cocks her head to the side, “ _'you've grown' partial ta me 'slang whippin' mug', how could I let down me sweet lil' nurse, Clairece?_ '”

She scoffs loudly, rolling her eyes and head in dramatic exaggeration while your smile only deepened, fully immersed in her story now.

“So, I looked him straight in the eyes and said, 'oh, please. Get over yourself, the only thing 'partial' to you are the flees on your ass!'”

“' _is that so, sweet thing?'_ and I nodded, not realizing he was getting closer and before I knew it I could.. taste him, as he murmured, _'cuz why are you kissin' me right now..?'_ ”

A gasp drew through your lips, your eyes wide as you grinned and stared at her as the fur on her cheeks rose with embarrassment yet she continued, her voice dropping as she raised a hand to her face and smoothed down her puffed pelt, “and then he kissed me-”

“No I remember specifically _you_ kissed _him!_ ” you laughed, your pain now only a subtle ache as she fluffed back up and stuttered.

“N-no! I-i w-wouldn't have k-kissed him first-” she snorted, shaking out her pelt quickly sending those soft vibrations through the air as her coat shivered along her shoulders before she settled back into the stool. Setting her hands back in her lap she smiled kindly to you, “he was a very sneaky little alley cat.”

“What happened next..?” you asked, beaming ear to ear.

“Well, we started to see each other.. not in the conventional sense..” she smirked, shaking her head, “he would just make up some ailment to get me to see to him at the hospital, he asked for a prescription to dinner with me and he seemed surprised when I said yes.”

The two of you giggled though she turned to the machine and was looking over your stats before turning back to you and asked, “are you feeling better..?”

Nodding you sighed, “much.. but-” you watched as she slid off of the chair and rounded the bed though she squeaked as her foot kicked something across the ground. You blinked wildly as she placed a hand over her chest and sighed before swooping down and picked up whatever caught her foot.

“What..?” you chirped.

“Oh, hun, I nearly tripped over your phone!”

So that's what Gaster dropped on the bed.. the thought of him made your eyes narrow, casting your gaze to the side as the woman brushed the device off and continued to round the bed to the baseboard. Plucking the clipboard from it's pocket, she spoke, “you're showing pretty good progress, I want to keep an eye on that head injury for another day though, just to be safe.”

Nodding gently you watched as she scribbled something down, placed the clipboard back in the plastic pocket at the foot of the bed and stepped back around to her stool though she stayed standing as she reached out to hand you your phone.

Sighing you carefully took it as she sat back on the edge of the bed beside you, she watched quietly as you looked over the cracked screen as you murmured, “what happened?”

“Oh, I think it cracked when it fell off of the bed.. sorry, Sun.. Alphys could probably-”

“No..” you interrupted, looking up over the top of the device as you gripped onto it with both hands carefully, “to you and Ellis?”

The stoat blinked a few times, her gaze trained on you as she softly sighed and adjusted her red frames absentmindedly while glancing off to the floor. You noticed how her lips pulled into her cheek briefly before dropping, “he fell.”

“Oh..” you murmured, regretting your question but she quickly spoke as she looked back up to you.

“He had a lot of problems, Sunshine.. things that.. things that love couldn't really solve for him. Drugs, addiction.. it just, caught up with him.” her voice softened as she moved up more on the mattress, “I tried to help him, but he pushed me away.. _'aint' nothin' you need'ta concern ya'self wit' Clairece, yer too sweet fo' this drag._ '”

Blinking up at her you found yourself scooting over to the side and patted the side of the bed to which she softened her features and lithely leaned up along the propped up, bent mattress with her soft form radiating heat into your side. She set her weight into her hip yet pressed her shoulder blades back against the pad, her gaze trailing up to the ceiling as she sighed and went on, “He lost Hope, he didn't think he was worth much of anything but he was.. so much more than he thought he was. He may not have been very educated but he had great ideas, was always thinking to himself and sometimes I'd just catch him staring out the window in nothing but his torn jeans with a cigarette and .. I'd just, get lost in that moment.”

“He sounded like a real interesting guy, I'm sorry Claire..” you whispered, blinking away moisture in your eyes as she glanced down to you and smiled as she slipped her arm through yours as she spoke.

“Ellis.. he wasn't a good guy, Sun..” she blinked back to the ceiling, “but he deserved better, he deserved a chance at kindness. New Home brought me a lot of drama, action and sleepless nights but that alley cat.. he was my real adventure, even though it was a sad ending. I don't regret my time with him. He made me a better, more observant doctor and encouraged me to move into a new section of the hospital. I helped deliver lots of little ones into the world instead of treating just insta-care patients.”

Smiling you murmured, “you were a mid-wife?”

She nodded, blinking before looking down to you as she watched you turn back to the device in your hands and idly stroked along the lock button, “yep. Monsters needed Hope and kids were a good source of it for some, while others sometimes just needed advice.. or a friend.”

You chewed gently on the inside of your cheek, letting her continue, “it's why I jumped at the opportunity to join this team, we have already made history with the fallen monsters here.. but to imagine that we could find a cure, for the future Ellis' of our time, I think that's the greatest honor I can do to his _'slang whippin'_ memory.”

She laughed lightly, her light hearted, positive attitude was infectious as you smiled, “thanks, Claire.”

The stoat grinned, her tail lightly tossing on the sheets beside her but she noticed you were fixated on the cracks in your device just as you pressed a tad too hard on the lock button and illuminated the screen. You had a low battery notification and with a light sigh you tried to cancel the message by scrolling your thumb across it but simply pulled up an image of you and the scientist in the mid-morning, dim light from the rain outside the nearby windows.

You found yourself staring, an odd lump forming in your throat yet anger prodded in the back of your mind. Although, as the seconds ticked on your thumb just set down on the bottom corner of the screen as the stoat murmured, “is that what he is normally like..?”

A smirk cracked on your lips as you gently shook your head, “G is normally an asshole..”

“What draws you to him, if I may ask..?” she asked gently.

You flicked your thumb over the screen to pan to another image, the faintest hint of a smile on the Lich's maw which only dumped ice cold water over the anger you tried to hold onto but just couldn't.

“Well, he's a good smooth talker..” you murmured, “I like the way he speaks, his word choice.. he's pretty old fashioned, and I like how he always looks so bored all the time.”

A smile cracked on your lips but it quickly faded.

“When he brought you in the other night,” Claire started, drawing your gaze to her, “I don't think I've ever seen him show emotion and he was.. so..”

“Pissed..?” you sighed but she shook her head, meeting your gaze.

“Scared.”

This wasn't making it easier for you to be mad at the Lich, your thumb quickly locking your phone once more as you set it down to rest on your lap as you spoke, “it's still not an excuse..”

“No.. it's not,” she brought her free hand up and gently gripped onto your bicep as she murmured, your gaze drifting to your lap, “he has an incredibly high level of violence, Sun.. he may not ever be able to.. love.”

Biting gently to the inside of your cheek you nodded, thinking back on those wretched holes in his soul. But some part of you, deep down, questioned this. You remembered those tugs in your chest, the warmth that would spread in your rib cage when he laughed, when he would lie with you so closely.. when he would murmur, whisper..

“Dear?”

You jumped, blinking as you looked up and found Claire blinking, tightening her grip on your arm as you settled back down and exhaled with a wide smile.

She raised a brow as she spoke, “are you okay..?”

“Yeah, sorry.. spaced out a bit.”

“That's okay,” she grinned, softening her features, “you want some dinner?”

“Ugh, it's really that late already..?” you muttered, trying to check your phone but the screen merely went white before shutting off completely.

The stoat chuckled and slipped from the side of the bed, “I'll bring you back something, and a phone charger so you aren't completely bored..” you settled into the sheets, watching as she straightened up her lab coat which was now even more wrinkled as she went on, “do you want anything specific..?”

Thinking for a moment you asked, “maybe some headphones..?”

Smiling to you she nodded, “can do, for now just rest. I'll be right back.”

You watched her slip from your room, pattering down the hallway with the clicking of her claws but as you found yourself laying there alone in the dark with your waning headache your eyelids began to drop. The medicine in your system made it hard to think too deeply on anything in particular though you had a craving to unlock your phone, to look at that picture one more time.. had he really been smiling..? Or was it your imagination?

Breathing out slowly, deeply, you felt your mind slip into a gentle doze. A final thought settling your odd, barely noticeable worry. If he could be angry or scared.. then he could feel happiness too, right?

He could.. love.. right?

 

***

 

The Lich had managed to shake Sans from his trail after putting the stoat in her place as he was left alone to change out of his expensive clothing into his dark gray hoodie and jeans. He snorted as he tightened a black leather belt around his waist, rolling his tongue behind his canines as he thought to himself.

More watchful eyes on the girl was a must. She would remain in recovery instead, not allowed to over exert herself again. She may have felt better but that was merely because of his own medicines. The woman would simply have to deal with being unenthused of his methods which had succeed in sedating her without the use oSf needles, her quivering appearance settled in his mind without a second thought. Her golden energy was now rather docile, hardly noticeable beneath the crushing weight of his instinct as he gathered his magic and went back out on his search picking back up where he left off.

He would have to find the female that had been a part of the ambush, without a name she would go unpunished and he could not allow that to happen.

 

Gaster had managed to track down the residual male scents on happenstance. While tracing the vanilla fragrance of the female with quick, barely noticeable jumps through the void across the city he overshot and ended up in an industrial area. It seemed to have been abandoned, these factories and holding areas untouched for generations. Metal, rust and rats were all that lived here now. Or.. should have been, anyways. Yet these male scents had trickled through these ran down buildings and led him to a series of warehouses.

Carrying a flat expression he took careful, calculated strides while gravel and weeds gave way to his dominate search tucked far behind wire fences and the general populous. As he walked he found his jaws carefully parting, inhaling these traces of history which began to lead him around the side of a rather large warehouse. The windows had mostly all been shattered and were a sickly brown though the building itself seemed rather resilient to the effects of time.

The monster rounded the side of the building, his white eyes flicking over the desolate industrial site while he casually continued to hug against the building. When the scents became stronger he turned his gaze back to the wall, coming across a large metal sliding door. He stopped, drawing in a slow breath as he locked his attention onto the very edge of the door and found dirt and dust to have been removed by smudged hand prints that coated the outside while a new lock lay latched into heavy, aged chains that held the gate shut to the side of the brick wall.

Blinking he peered around him one more time, his magic curling from his form yet only the souls of spiders greeted him. With a gentle huff he plucked himself from existence and dropped straight inside of the warehouse, as he glanced around he became.. disappointed. With his back to the door he allowed his hand to trail up to the hood blocking his peripheral vision and tossed it down to rest against his broad shoulders. His head slowly began rotate as his hand dropped back to his side, taking in the vast, abandoned interior. He was unsure what the original purpose of this building was as heavy metal chains lay piled off to the side while it's brethren still lay tangled above him along the structural, metal beams in the ceiling.

Snorting the Lich took a few steps inside, trailing his gaze along the edges of the room and noticed multiple piles of pure rubbish strewn across the floor including large, empty bath tubs soaked in putrid stains. The scents of the males were all through this building yet hardly anything seemed touched besides footprints in the dust. He lifted his gaze back up, finding large metal hooks dangling from the ceiling in certain areas but as he came to a stop in the middle of the room his focus cast back towards the far side of the building and found glass shattered across the floor with the remnants of an office chair broken across the hard ground. He lifted his undamaged brow as he trailed his gaze upwards and found a catwalk that snaked through the beams above and to a small office on a loft, hovering just above this scene.

In the blink of an eye the Lich was standing up on this catwalk, just outside of the boxed office and peered down at the ground. He could see the shuffled, disorganized movements from the humans traipsing through the building and it merely fed his disappointment. These humans were idiotic, messy, no fun.. his tongue rolled along the backs of his canines. Although, there must be a purpose for them to have been here as a new lock had been installed by them, there must be something here.

The only smell up here was that of dust and of a human male he had yet to meet personally, it drew his focus to the office and the door. He used a summoned hand to twist the handle and with a hard yank the door gave way with a puff of dust and groaned as it swung open. The scientist merely peered around the small room, a broken desk lay on the far side with a pathetic office chair in near shambles beside it. The window in this office had been smashed from the inside, explaining the shards of glass and remnants of the matching twin chair on the ground below.

Snorting he promptly shut the door and turned his gaze back over the warehouse as he found his feet carrying him along the catwalk, the metal clanking softly beneath his heavy footsteps. This was.. odd indeed. While this random behavior could be explained by simple minded men having simple minded fun by breaking and entering, destroying things and stumbling around the Lich felt as if he were missing something.. They had gone into this specific building for a specific reason as their scents and footsteps only went to and from this particular, broken, warehouse.

As he strolled he found his gaze absentmindedly scrolling back up to the rafters above and on either sides of him, landing on those large, rusted hooks once more yet he just passed them by as he made his rounds. The smell of these humans was old, possibly a week or more. It was unlikely they would be back.

It was just another dead end.

Gaster absentmindedly prodded the backs of his sharp canines with the edge of his tongue as he continued his walk, turning his attention forward to the end of the catwalk with his brow scrunching towards his damaged socket. This male scent carried forward all the way to the end of this walk and towards a pile of metal rubbish yet the scientist went along anyways, striding right up towards the pile of metal and set his hands into his pockets while drawing in a deep breath and let it out with a deep, reverberating hum.

Before him lay large, rusted and abused meat hooks.

They were strewn half hazardously at the end of the catwalk before him. The Lich pulled his hands from his pockets as he crouched down before the pile of metal and scrutinized these hooks, old blood stains and scratches lay embedded into the faded shimmering surface of these tools. The ends were tapered dangerously yet some of them were in disrepair.

The Lich refrained from touching these instruments yet his sockets only narrowed further. What was the point in all of this..?

They had come clear out here to deposit these bits of metal on the catwalk, amongst the chains and dusty rafters, before throwing a chair out of the office in order to break the window.

A subtle irritation rose in his mind, this behavior wasn't logical.

Gaster brought his gaze back up as he processed theories, his white eyes trailing over the chains and metal beams of the ceiling. He caught hold of a few pully systems, old, worn and unused for many, many years. The hooks currently hanging from the ceiling were thick, short and possibly meant for simply lifting heavy fabrications of whatever was constructed here.

“They were going to replace these tools with meat hooks, how.. interesting,” he muttered under his breath.

But why?

Straightening back up the monster snorted heavily, bits of dust twirling around him in the mid-afternoon sun trickling through the windows up along the sides of the warehouse. He was wasting time here yet he simply found himself back on the ground floor, beneath where he had been standing and cast his gaze to the wall towards the worn bathtubs. His critical gaze caught hold of the floor and noticed long drag marks through the dust and debris, they had been pushed into a line up by the young human brothers.

Unable to help his curiosity the scientist carefully stepped up towards the tubs and glanced inside, his eyes shivering at the sight of more meat hooks.

Angrily he plunged his hand inside one of the tubs and lifted the heavy metal in one hand, the eye of the hook pointed towards the floor behind him while the sharpened end glistened up close to his jaws as he inhaled. The metal shimmered against the clouds of dust having been stirred from his investigation and settled against his tongue yet the taste of dirt could not cover the recent smell of chemicals and metal. These tools had been cleaned and sharpened recently while the ones above had not been.

With a growl the monster tossed the heavy metal back inside the tub, the tools clattering together loudly as he glared down inside of the tub and muttered, “they had used these tubs to clean these tools in batches, yet left them here afterwards. Possibly due to laziness, or a method of keeping track what had been treated and what had yet not been..”

He found his lip curling into a silent snarl as he whirled around and glared back up to the catwalk above him, the metal, rusted tools shadowing him.

“But why carry the unclean ones to the catwalk..?”

They were going to replace the lifting hooks with meat hooks, yet the cleaned ones were still down on the ground floor while the others were almost waiting to be put up.

What nonsense was this..?

He was broken from his thoughts as he felt his magic being tugged once more, he breathed in deeply and let it out with a slow, reverberating growl that shook the tubs besides him. The metal inside shivering and clattering together as his magic thrummed outwards from his soul. He didn't have time to keep checking on the girl, but if she was using his magic so heavily something else was surely happening.. someone else prodding her, getting into his business.

He cut off his growl with a heavy snort. He would need to strike one more goal before returning, he knew Sans was waiting for him there, with her. The skeleton was relying on his return so he could continue to shadow and pester him as he had done most of the day. It was beyond cumbersome.

There was no more time to waste here.

The Lich swallowed dryly, settling his frustration as he focused back on the flavors of vanilla and the last place he had picked up the scent which was only a few miles out towards a suburban neighborhood.

Putting this place at the back of his mind he pulled the hood back over his head and threw himself through the void, landing back on his trail with a new aggravation fueling his blood lust though the stronger and stronger this females scent became he found his magic beginning to churn and bubble within him. Hardly being able to notice his mate dipping her hands into it as his eyes dilated, leaping through yards at split second intervals before he finally landed in a large cottonwood tree, the branches and leaves concealing his crouching form as he focused in through the window of an older home.

The shadow of a figure passing by the blinds at a rapid pace caught his attention.

A soft smirk tugged at his jaws, his maw parting as he drew in a deep breath but it was only released with a quick puff of air. Arousal tinged at his bones as he settled in, he had found her and he could smell her fear from here. Finally, his favorite part of the hunt was upon him.

All he had to do now was wait as far in the distance the warehouse was unlocked by fumbling, shaky hands.

 

***

 

You sat on the bed with both arms extended before you, the IV still embedded in your arm yet it didn't bother you as much as it had. Claire had insisted you remain hooked up for at least a few more hours while you let your food digest, her nurturing tone was hard to refuse so you merely put up with it. Though when she left the room to clear your used dish wear Sans had appeared, taking her place on the stool beside you with his gaze focused in on the summoned apparitions just beyond your outstretched hands.

“that all you can do, dollface?” he murmured, his grin hitching into a smirk as his white pupils flicked to your expression yet you remained at peace, the medication in your system cooling your veins and mind as you shook your head.

“No I can do this too..” you gave him a gentle smile as you instructed a hand to turn around, slowly curling the fingers down as Sans turned his gaze back towards the summoned apparition and began to chuckle as a proud, middle finger glared at him.

“very impressive,” he stated, shaking his head lightly as you began to giggle and released the rude gesture. The bony apparition fanned it's fingers quickly as you rotated your wrist and mirrored it's movements before dropping your hands yet both of the hands remained poised in the air on standby.

“I can do basic stuff but I'm not entirely sure how to.. defend myself,” you started, watching the hands float in the air while the skeleton turned his tired gaze back towards you, “G only taught me how to control them but I can only summon two for some reason.. but I can use them pretty well I guess.”

You let your gaze drift over the room, towards the broken shelves with their doors ripped off as the skeleton murmured, “he knows when you use 'em, ya know.”

“Tcht,” you snorted, shrugging, “he can feel when my soul gets excited, he knows when I'm upset and he can even read my damn mind if we are close to each other within a hundred feet or so.. I'm sure he can also tell when I use his magic, I don't really care at this point.”

Sans blinked wildly, his brow scrunching as you panned over and met his gaze with a rather flat expression, “I might as well come completely clean about all of this, we both can sense what is somewhat going on with the other. Though, while I guess he can read my energy and emotions, I can't really read his-” you brought your hands up, pulling quotation marks in the air while the bony apparitions mimicked you, “ _'-emotions'._ ”

Dropping your hands you took in a deep breath before letting it out through your nose, the skeleton remaining silent for you to continue as his expression fell back to his usual neutral smile while you went on, “sometimes my neck itches or burns when he is angry at something, it tingles when he gets excited and that's rare.. though..” you brought a hand up to the bandage on your neck, carefully laying it over the patch as you trailed your gaze to the phone in your lap, “it's really doing that now.”

The skeleton let out a soft breath through his teeth, the both of you knew that wasn't a good sign as he spoke, “not much I can do at this point, his little stunt blocked me from followin' him. he'll be back here though, eventually.”

“What did Asgore have to say about it..?” you asked carefully, dropping your hand to your phone as you held it in both hands and listened as the skeleton replied.

“he's got paps and undyne helping the detectives find leads, they're checkin' all the addresses the fourth time but we still don't know who that girl was.”

“Me either.. never seen her before..” you murmured, Sans simply just shrugged as a silence fell between the both of you.

Sans watched you ran your thumb idly over the cracked screen of your phone while it charged and carefully spoke, “he treat you like that normally?”

You quickly shook your head, “no.”

“.. you lyin' to me?”

Your eyes flicked up to the skeleton who kept his neutral poker face as you quietly replied, “you sure you want to have this conversation with me, Sans?”

He actually seemed to be listening to you as he paused for a moment before nodding, “you want us to be friends.. ya gotta talk to me.”

“I am talking to you,” you smiled gently, your eyes softening, “when can I leave this place, seriously..? I kind of miss Chip, the kids, Toriel.. Jenny..”

The skeleton exhaled, not enjoying the change of the subject but responded anyways, “not until those headaches go away without the help of medication.”

You pulled the corner of your lips into your cheek, feeling slightly annoyed as you turned on your phone and watched the screen load up as the monster continued, “but you can get visitors tomorrow-”

Blinking you turned your gaze up to the skeleton, seeming surprised as he gently chuckled, “detective dickstache is coming by with jenny tomorrow morning, he's the only one with clearance to bring in a visitor while the rest of us try to get the media, and case, under control.”

Giggling a bit you asked, “you, _working?_ ”

He shrugged, his eyelids drooping, “i'm supposed to be shadowin' nutcase. he jumps nearly everywhere as to not be seen on the surface, it's pretty tiring keepin' up.”

“So what, he just runs around and flicks in and out of the void rapidly?”

He nodded, you pulled a face as your phone vibrated in your hands as it loaded up your applications, “he's getting out of control Sans.. He won't even listen to me. I don't want anyone else getting hurt..”

“they'll kill 'em.”

A pang drove into your very soul as you straightened up, your emotion must have flashed upon your face as he quickly went on, “well, figuratively. it would take an army to stop that psycho at this point, all we can do is arrest them before he get's the chance to locate any of them. in a sense he has helped us get more evidence and information.. though he ain't lookin' for justice.. he's lookin' for blood.”

You knew.

 

Your conversation was interrupted as a tired, exasperated Alphys stepped into the room though as the both of you turned to her she smiled towards you, “o-oh! Y-you're up.”

Nodding, a smile set upon your face, notification chimes and vibrations digging into your palms from your cell phone as you watched the woman step up to the other side of your bed and seemed to be looking you over. Though after a few moments her eyes trailed back up to the summoned apparitions floating above the bed a couple feet away from you at chest level.

“I-i'm s-sorry I didn't g-get the ch-chance to check on you..”

Waving a hand idly a bony apparition mirrored your movements which caught her attention, her eyes widening with curiosity while you spoke, “no worries, Alphys.. I understand.”

Sighing she pulled her gaze away from the bony hands and looked you straight in the eyes, “I.. I w-want you t-to know th-that it's okay if y-you use magic, y-you aren't in t-trouble or anything..”

You knew what she was talking about, it's not that you had been scared of getting in trouble if your friends knew you could use magic.. you just didn't want them to have another reason to lecture you. You would have told them.. eventually.

“I know..” you murmured, glancing down to your phone as you watched the total number of missed calls and text messages spring up onto the screen but it wasn't as bad as the night after Logan tried pulling moves on you.

“I.. I a-actually n-need the both of you.. i-if you're able t-to stand?” she asked anxiously, her hands wringing together as the both of you turned to her but it was Sans that spoke.

“is it that machine of his?”

“K-kinda.. I-i.. I can't read h-his notes either..”

You clicked the lock button on your phone, hiding the screen as you asked, “has G seriously not been working this entire time?”

The woman's anxiety festered into her claws, the digits clicking together as she smiled sheepishly and shook her head while the skeleton just gave a light snort.

Without hesitating you turned to the IV in your arm, the tape hardly covering the multiple, purple pinpricks from all the injections you've been forced to take over the past day or so. You noticed Sans move towards you in an attempt to stop your free hand from grabbing the needle but you lashed out with a summoned hand and slapped him away. The loud clacking of bone on bone echoed through the room as he growled, pulling his hand back towards him as you took out the needle and tossed it over the bed spitefully.

You seriously were done being here.

“should be restin', dollface.”

Snorting you ignored him, turning towards Alphys' side and with her help you carefully stood and stretched your back. Your cellphone being forgotten amidst the crumpled, warm sheets. Gentle popping trailed up your spine as you pulled the summoned hands towards you, floating at your shoulders as you yawned, masking your light headedness as you spoke, “let's go.. I need to walk around or I'll go insane.”

On the exhale you simmered down and looked to Alphys who nodded and slowly stepped out of the room with you just behind her. You didn't bother putting away the Lich's magic, you knew that it irritated him and couldn't help but be a bit passive aggressive from the way he treated you. If he was going to be a prick then you could play his game.

Technicians scattered as you approached, per usual, though a few were simply shocked in place as you passed them by with the skeletal hands on either side of you. You made your way through the lobby, Sans popping up into existence right beside you. He didn't startle you anymore, plus the medication made everything seem.. slow. Luckily he stayed quiet as you all made your way across the large room and down to the opposite halls, towards the Lich's office.

Before Alphys could get to the double doors you pushed the hands outward, having them open the doors for your troupe as you all shuffled inside. The conjured hands pulled away from the metal and trailed on behind you as you meandered to the monster's desk, your glazed over expression trailing over the trenches left in the wood before jerking your attention away from them as you rounded the old desk and plopped into his office chair. The short walk had made you dizzier than expected, shutting your eyes and leaning back you heard Alphys speak up by the machine.

“I n-need to manually s-stabilize tank B, h-his formula is.. aggressive and u-unresponsive to s-slow synthesis.”

“o' course it is,” Sans muttered.

You could hear them both shifting around but you only opened your eyes when you heard the clicking of claws draw around the table towards you. Lifting your eyelids you hazily focused in on Alphys as she held a clipboard in her hands, she carefully handed it over to you and watched patiently as you flipped the board around and studied the notes before you. It was all done in an inky, black scrawl that almost looked printed from a machine in strange symbols.

Ever so slowly your mind was able to process this writing but the translation wasn't making much sense to you either, blinking you let slip a gentle hum as you drew the paper closer to your face, “what does.. _'fluctuations stemmed on radial fluidity of Patience'_ mean?”

Sans grunted, looking over both vats, “that he didn't want anyone to be able to understand his notes either.”

“Sounds like him,” you snorted, trying to flip through his notes but all of it was more or less the same. Sighing you murmured, “can we fix it without his help?”

The skeleton knocked the back of his bony digits on each vat, Alphys' less aggressive serum did not react where as Gaster's shuddered and nearly pulled a part before slowly coagulating back together in one large mass. The noise brought your attention up, your mind having a difficult time processing what you were seeing but the light was rather beautiful and held your attention.

While you all were entranced in the odd behavior of the Lich's concoction the door to the office swung open, the stoat slipping inside the room and gave a gentle sigh of relief as she rushed inside towards the desk but you were still too caught up in the bubbling, twisting white mess inside the second vat to acknowledge her.

“Sun-” not even your name would fully register, a subtle pounding drawing into your skull behind your eye sockets as Claire rounded the desk and set her hand on your shoulder. That broke you from your fixation, slightly jumping you turned your attention to her red frames as she murmured, “are you okay..? I put you on some pretty heavy stuff, you should get back to bed.”

You hadn't even realized you had been smiling as your lips pulled into a light frown, scrunching your brow with a sigh as you glanced back to the machine and tried to listen in on what Sans and Alphys were saying but they were talking rather softly.

Without a reply the stoat leaned down, her hand still on your arm as she spoke, “you should be on that medication, your headache will just come back without it and your body needs this IV to heal. I know you don't like it but it will let you get out of here sooner.”

As she spoke her words became true, feeling light headed a deep pulse would go through your mind at each syllable until finally you couldn't focus on holding the Lich's magic and the bony apparitions folded back into nothingness. Their disappearance went unnoticed as the woman continued, “I have some headphones-”

“No offense, Claire,” you murmured, closing your eyes as the pounding in your head began to really break through while a stitch in your side was making it hard to breathe in deeply, “I kinda just need to.. sit here.”

“It's because the medication is wearing off-” she tried to explain but her voice just made you wince, the clipboard being plucked out of your hands with ease as a baritone voice murmured next to you.

“i got it.”

“Thanks, Sans..” the woman murmured.

You felt bony hands dip up under your knees and across your bruised back, a hiss drawing through your teeth as the skeleton lifted you up from the office chair and into his arms. The plush jacket padded you from his hard body yet your various bruises and hurt rib made being held rather uncomfortable, you tried to shift in his grasp but he merely just held you all the firmer and dipped his face down to quietly speak, “relax, kitten.”

“Don't.. call me that,” you growled, your brows scrunching together as discomfort rose to which your soul gave a pained flutter to.

 

***

The Lich snorted, feeling a pin prick drive into his soul and drew his brows together in an angry glare.

Of course they let her be off of the drip.

He molded something between his hands as he stared at the building, watching the back door as the sun was setting. A black moth lifted from his digits, followed by a few of it's brethren as he scattered his magic. As the creatures fluttered across the yard to watch all sides of the building a large, torn winged bug skittered up onto his forearm from the inside of the hole punched through his palm as he settled back on the branch.

Idiots.

***

 

You weren't given a response as a spinning rush took hold of your body, leaving you confused as the skeleton drew you outward from his chest but in a panic you quickly latched onto his coat. Your knuckles white as a shiver took hold of your form, feeling as if you were falling you decided to just keep your eyes shut while the skeleton kept placing you downward until your back hit something soft.

A jolt went through your body, only making you cling harder to the monster as his hands left you and instead placed themselves on either sides of you as you kept him unknowingly close. A blue hue crept up beneath his sockets as he cleared his throat and chuckled, “you uh.. gonna let go, dollface?”

Carefully you cracked open an eyelid, the pounding in your head making you feel nearly nauseous as you eased your muscles and glanced around while your grip loosened. Slowly you let go of his jacket as you realized you were back in the room and sighed, trying to shift but just felt a hard pain stab through your side and caught your breath in your throat. The pain hissed through your teeth while Sans pulled himself off of you, turning his attention to the equipment and shuffled around as you laid there.

Bringing a hand up to your face, covering your eyes, you whimpered, “ya know.. I kind of hate agreeing with you guys..”

“'bout what?” he chuckled, setting up a new drip.

“That I should probably stay in bed..” through the pain you smirked as Sans continued to chuckle, shaking his head gently as he took hold of your free arm which you surrendered with no issues. You heard the soft pattering of claws against the floor, rounding the bed on your other side as the skeleton set in another new needle.

Your arm felt raw from how many times you've been stabbed but as long as it would help the pain you didn't mind at this point. Keeping your hand over your face the stoat kindly murmured down to you as she set something on the mattress beside you, “when you feel better you can listen to your music, we will be around just text Sans if you need anything.”

Not about to open your mouth you simply nodded as the skeleton finished taping down the set up and pulled away from your arm, he spoke carefully, “though don't if you can help it, i got important breaks to take.”

The both of you snickered though you quickly stopped as laughing jarred your ribs a bit too hard, slowly you worked your fingertips into your forehead, avoiding the bandages around your skull as you listened to the both of them leave while murmuring to one another. The light bearing down on the back of your eyelids went out as the skeleton flipped the switch on the wall as they passed through the doorway, their voices trailing away down the hall.

You didn't want to be here anymore.

You wanted to feel better, to be home.. to lay on the couch, drinking wine with-

Biting into the inside of your cheek you tried to not think about it, drawing your focus instead to your friends. To Jenny.. you'd have to give her a call once the medicine kicked in.

Sighing gently you winced, she was probably so heartbroken..

 

***

 

Dennis hardly had time to think as right when he knocked the door flung open and the woman grabbed hold of his hoodie, yanking him inside and slammed the door behind him as Jenny shook him in the hallway.

“Did that sick fuck say where he was going!? I'll kill him-!”

“J-jen-” the teen tried, his eyes wide open as the woman snarled in his face though her eyes were red and puffy as she spat.

“I'll get my kitchen knife-!”

“Jen!”

“-and hit him with my car!”

“JENNY!” the boy shouted, grabbing hold of her wrists as she stopped her frantic bullying and just stood there, panting as he sighed and pushed her hands carefully away from him as he spoke, “what are you talking about?”

“Jake, he-... he-!” she began to shake, her face scrunching into pure rage as she hunched over and tossed her head side to side as she spat, “lured my best friend into a trap-!”

The teenager blinked rapidly, keeping hold of the woman in case she were to loose her footing as she continued to rave, “-some people beat her up- L-logan's little brother and some other guy-!”

With a quick snap she pulled her gaze back up to the boy, his heart racing as she shouted, “WHERE IS HE!?”

“Y-you're talking too fast..!”

The teenager really could not keep up as the woman went into a slurry of more insults, threats and ranting as she tore her arms from his grasp and paced back and forth across the living room. Dennis found his hand going up to the back of his neck as he observed and merely listened, he would have to wait for her to vent this all out otherwise she wouldn't even be able to process what he was saying to her.

 

After an hour of wrangling this woman to settle down, finally, they both sat on the couch facing one another as the woman wiped at her eyes and sniffled, “I shouldn't have been so stupid-”

“You aren't stupid, Jenny.. It sounds like Jake is the dumb ass loser,” he murmured, leaning back against the corner of the sofa while she just remained hunched over with a throw pillow in her lap. Her fingertips picked at the decorative edges as she nodded and growled.

“Yeah, he _is_ a dumb ass loser.. and he doesn't know how to use his hands very well.”

The teen's mouth drew into a hardened line, his eyelid twitching at the unwanted mental image as she prattled on.

“When Gaster finds them he is going to mess them up so bad.”

“Wait..” he swallowed, easing his expression as the woman glanced up at met his unwary gaze, “what are you talking about..?”

“Gaster is helping the detectives find those cock suckers and he's going to give them a swift ass kicking, that's for sure!” she snorted, tucking the pillow into her chest in a tight hug, “her head was split open and Sans told me she had a fractured rib too..” she swallowed back the tears as the teen found his hands clenching, “the detective is coming by tomorrow morning to take me to her for a visit..”

“She in the hospital..?” he murmured, remembering how Alise screamed at Mike for beating the poor woman.. his own anger starting to fester in his heart as Jenny shook her head.

“No, she's at the research lab.. technically Gaster _is_ her doctor.”

Dennis let out a deep breath through his nose, grinding his fingers together as he glanced across the room. The thought of such a strange, cold monster 'caring' for a wounded woman was inconceivable.. yet he didn't want to turn the subject towards the beast, it was best to just leave it alone.

His mind panned back to his ex-friends and his brother. They had planned on only telling her about the warehouse.. or were perhaps going to kidnap her to the warehouse as bait.. yet that didn't happen. The monster was much too strong, too powerful for such a shitty plan and so many people were hurt in the process.. Beck was dead, this other woman was battered, Logan was in the hospital and now his own brother was also in danger if this thing was allowed to help in the search. It wouldn't be long before he found them.

But in Dennis' own haste.. in his own anger.. he hadn't bothered to see where they were going next. Shit.

Carefully he spoke up, “you said.. you said a detective would be by to take you to see her..?”

She nodded, clearing her throat as she rested her chin on the large pillow and murmured, “I don't know how I can handle waiting.. I've been going crazy all day..”

“Can I.. can I come, too? Maybe I can help..?”

The woman blinked, lifting her chin from the pillow as she spoke, “Den- you sure you're comfortable doing something like that..?”

“Yeah..” he murmured.

He knew the monster would be there, discomfort settled into his chest but he swallowed it down and continued, “but I can't just be a bystander.. Too many people are getting hurt-”

She gave a whimpering laugh, shoving the pillow to the floor before lunging across the sofa and fell into his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck. A flush drove up into his cheeks as he felt her lay into him, her face tucked into his neck while her breasts pressed against him awkwardly yet she didn't seem to mind as she showered him in praise.

“Oh my god, Dennis I appreciate that you want to come with me-! I promise I won't let Gaster be a dick to you but he does like to smell people and he's really tall but don't be scared- and Sun will love you, I know you guys will hit it off-!”

He let the woman ramble, his flush only drawing deeper. The woman's breath was caressing the side of his neck as she spoke, nervousness kept him from saying anything further as he slowly set his hands on her back and sat there motionless. It would probably be better to speak with the detective rather than this woman, he was afraid of setting her off and women were.. so weird.

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck as the woman nuzzled into him, his teeth clenching while his heart began to pound rapidly as her heavy words beat against his skin but he couldn't really hear what she was saying. He felt an odd tug dig into his gut as she continued to lay against him, beyond embarrassed and.. unsure of himself he nervously smiled.

It would be okay to wait. What was one more night anyways?

 


	21. Unholy Power (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster finds his second target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> \- Anti-religious themes are in this chapter.  
> \- Strong Manipulation/Horror elements are also in this chapter.  
> \- Dom/sub (kind of non-con) middle of chapter.
> 
> Enjoy your twenty six pages, my lovelies. 8)

Nightfall.

The girl's soul had finally quieted down, she was either asleep or back on the IV. Either option didn't concern him so long as her golden energy remained twisting within his magic, strengthening his abilities. He would indulge himself tonight.

His dark, electric energy was festering, gnawing at his insides as he rolled himself upwards on the balls of his feet, a gentle breeze billowing through the branches and shook the leaves around him. The dark hood of his jacket lightly caressed the side of his face as the fabric swayed in the gentle wind, his piercing gaze unwavering towards the building. This canopy could not obscure his vision as he witnessed the back door open, a flurry of his moths fluttering around the small black haired girl as she carefully shooed the creatures away from her. She was wearing a thick, baggy hoodie and torn jeans, pulling the hood up over her head with a backpack slung across her shoulder.

His words were carried on the wind, crackling through the branches as he murmured, “my, my.. where are we going, hmnn?”

The girl looked around, grasping onto the strap digging across her chest yet when she found no one she made haste to the side gate without bothering to lock the door behind her.

“A runaway.. oh, pet..” he couldn't help but to chuckle, “run, run.. as fast as you can..”

She bolted through the gate, the latch closing behind her just as a black moth slipped between the closing wood. The Lich's eyes dilated, a deep drawing breath filling his lungs with the fresh night air as a stirring drew deep within his gut, “tantalize me..”

 

Alise didn't know why but she had been feeling a sick pressure deep in her chest since this later afternoon. Perhaps it was simple paranoia making her snap at her parents before hiding in her room in an attempt to calm down, yet.. she couldn't help but to feel watched. She felt.. threatened. So much so that she even had clasped an old pendant around her neck, the small golden cross being tucked under her large, dark hoodie to rest against her flushed skin.

Although, the token could not combat the sins she felt weighing on her back.

That girl they had lured into the alley.. she needed help. But, instead, Alise had ran. She was a coward and a hypocrite just like Mike had said. The words burning into the back of her mind as they chased her out of the door back home, she wanted no more part in this.. this monster was beyond evil, and they had went after something precious to it. It had driven him to swift murder according to Jake and in her mind, her brother Logan, had gotten off easy. But it wouldn't just let all of them escape, she could feel eyes on her and it was making her nauseous.

She couldn't stay at home. She needed to leave, she needed to.. _run._

Trying to stay composed she briskly fled, trailing through yards, hopping over curbs and gutters towards a friend's house a few blocks away. She would just need to either take the road around the gully or go straight through it, time was of the essence.. the longer she was out here, the more her stomach rolled into knots. An odd silence was weighing on her as the trees lightly swayed in the night air.

As she left the last row of houses at the end of the street the device in her back pocket gave a soft buzz, without hesitating the teen reached back to her cellphone but squeaked as she brushed her hand over something fuzzy. Spinning around, panting, she saw a moth flutter off behind her yet her eyes drifted to her surroundings nervously.

“Calm down..” she breathed to herself, pushing a heavy breath through her pursed lips as she relaxed, yet this odd feeling wouldn't leave her as she plucked the device from her pocket and turned forward once more, “there's nothing out here, just bugs.. chill, Alise.”

A dark, lithe shadow darted diagonally from behind her against a neighboring fence.

Alise quickened her pace, biting her bottom lip as the light from her phone brought her some comfort, the screen had only slightly cracked from being dropped back in the alley. Seeing she had a new text message she was swift about opening it up, her footsteps light on the cement as she made her way towards the gully just a few hundred feet before her. The rows of houses were now far behind her but as she read the screen a hard pang rang out against her heart.

_'I know what you did.'_

The caller ID wouldn't display.

She was picking up her pace to a near jog, her fingers beginning to tremble as she whipped her head around though she was met with only soft blue surroundings, the stars twinkling up above, faded against the cities pollution.

A static noise drew her back to her phone, her eyes widening as the message deleted itself and warbling, glitching text scrawled across the message bubble at an agonizing pace.

_'You smell so sweet, Alise Princoff.'_

She was running now, phone clutched in her hand while she swung her arms in her dead on sprint. Glancing behind her she saw a shadow slink over the side of a distant home, the stucco seeming to shift as it passed over it and with a gasp tears began to prick in her eyes. 

No. No, this wasn't real.

She was seeing things- turning her gaze forward she kicked off against the asphalt with as much force as she could. Rocks tumbling from the soles of her shoes as she drew right up to the low metal railing guarding traffic from plummeting into the gully. She had no choice. The road would take her nearly ten minutes whereas this shortcut was half that at a full sprint.

With a heavy grunt she leapt from the ground, soaring over the railing and choked down a cry as the uneven ground below gave way to her hard landing and sent her plummeting down the hill. Her body was tossed down the ravine, thirty feet of weeds, dirt and pieces of rock cut her flesh and sullied her clothing as she rolled to a halt at the far bottom of the gully. Still clutching to the device in her hand it continued to vibrate with notifications though she refused to look, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest as she scrambled onto all fours and kicked off of the ground.

Clouds of dust hung around her ankles as she darted along the narrow path, trees, bushes and garbage lay strewn across the gouge in the Earth in which she fled. Her throat burned, her lungs were aflame with the effort to keep this frantic pace yet as she ran a whine bled through her clenched teeth. 

Something was chasing her. 

Twigs crunched to her left only to pause and then snap just beside her. With a yelp she darted up the side of the gully, weaving between trees as she jerked her gaze quickly over her shoulder and only found the saplings behind her swaying in some unknown breeze. Her light backpack bouncing against her shoulder blades as she dashed.

_This was insane._

_**What was happening!?** _

Another vibration hummed into her palm.

“Leave me alone!” she squealed, baring her teeth in fear as she jerked her attention forward. Dodging through trees both large and small, her feet slipping and catching on the uneven ground.

A hot gust of air brushed over her ear from behind just before she felt a tug on the back of her jeans, as if her belt loop had been snagged. The hard jerk made her stumble, the slant of the gully disheveling her and as she landed down with her right foot, her ankle rolled. A harsh cry left her lips, her leg giving out beneath her as momentum carried her forward. She was going too fast to see, tears blurring her vision as her shoulder collided with a hard tree. It spun her, her legs tangling together as she fell to the ground and tumbled back down to the center of the gully.

Pain, hot, searing pain shot up her leg from her ankle as she rolled to a stop on her side. Cradling her arms against her chest she let out a pathetic, wet sob with her eyes shutting tightly. Drool coated her lips and slipped from her teeth to the barren Earth beneath her as she cried, desperate.

“ _Stop!_ _**STOP!**_ ” her voice pierced the shadows and all was still around her.

Panting, wheezing and shaking against the ground she braced herself. 

She waited.

Nothing came.

The soft rustle of the trees around her coerced her lids to open, tears staining her cheeks as she heaved and flicked her gaze around before her. All that met her were beer cans, junk food containers and broken twigs with long strands of yellowed grass attempting to grow in patches. Whimpering she pulled at her leg and hissed, the sensation rattling her to the bone as she let out another row of sobs. Still clutching the phone in one hand, the other covered her face as she wept.

She lay here for fifteen minutes, nearly broken, yet with enough time she began to calm down and looked up from her hand. Finding the same scenery she slowly pushed herself up and looked down to her leg, her ankle wasn't broken but it was swollen and bruised. Biting the inside of her cheek, suppressing a hiccup, she pulled at her leg again and yelped, her breath shaky as she exclaimed, “f-fuck!”

Realization hit her, she wouldn't be able to walk let alone run in this condition. Fumbling with the device in her hand she quickly opened it back up and rubbed the dirt from the screen though the messenger system was still pulled up, her eyes reading through the text without truly meaning to. 

_'Are you afraid, pet..?'_

The woman's eyes widened, a tremble taking hold of her bottom lip.

_'My, at this pace you will hurt yourself.'_

Slowly she began to shake her head, in complete disbelief.

_'I told you so, you've sprained your ankle.. how cliché.'_

She felt sick. Bile building in her throat as she wheezed and frantically tried to tap out of the messenger system but it would only flicker and then remained popped up on the screen. A fresh trail of tears dripped down her cheeks as she whirled her head around, trying to see through the darkness and seclusion of the gully. No one would hear her down here. She was trapped.

Unwilling to accept this she turned back to her phone, her last life line, yet she only witnessed another message spring up beneath the older ones, hardly being able to process the message through her heightening, pathetic whimpers as a gentle breeze combed through her hair.

_'Do you want to see me?'_

The girl shook her head again. Slowly, at first, but it began to pick up, her eyes widening as more texts came in.

_'I can bury into you.. Alise-'_

Another sob wracked through her throat, pulling a hand up to her mouth while the other tremored with near convulsions, the device shaking in the air as the text went on.

_'-like metal squelching into bloody, hot flesh-'_

**“S-stop!”** she wept, struggling to pull at her leg but only heaved from the hot iron stabbing through her flesh.

_'-crimson rivulets will bleed a sea from your quivering form-'_

She was frozen, pure shock settling into her chest as she struggled to breathe. Her lungs expelling air too quickly and not taking enough in as the violent scrawl went on, filling her entire screen rapidly.

_'-such virgin wine, a worthy spiritual gift to a true God.'_

Her breath came in high pitched wheezing, too rapid, too shallow to be of any use to her body.

_'Be my lamb to slaughter-'_

Blackness teemed into the corners of her eyes, a pressure drawing into her body as she tried to heave through the constriction on her throat from sheer anxiety.

_'-I want to witness those moist eyes clawing into my sockets-'_

Lack of oxygen began to take her, but not before the final line bore into her mind.

_'-whilst I tear you asunder this night.'_

 

The body of the girl slumped to the ground, she had fainted.

A soft chuckle reverberated through his chest, thrumming into the very air as he slipped from the shadows off to the side of the woman while his gaze trailed down over her form. Parting his jaws he felt arousal tinge within the depths of his soul, eliciting a wavering pant that slid through his glistening canines with the touch of silk. He stepped around her collapsed form and gracefully spun to face her, dirt kicking up at his heels and cast clouds of debris over the woman.

The monster pushed the sleeves of his jacket up past his elbows, not having to worry about his white flesh giving him away at this point. He crouched down to her level, resting his elbows on his knees and took in the specks of dirt staining her face along with the hot, salty rivers having poured from her eyes smudged in black mascara. Even unconscious she looked pained. A hissing inhale tickled his throat as he grinned beneath the heavy shadow cast across his expression from his hood.

The tiny pinpricks of his white pupils flicked across her facial features for a moment before darting downward, a small golden cross on a silver chain having been tossed outward from her baggy hoodie and lay swinging, glimmering, in the darkness. Fixated, a deep, amused smirk carved its way across his face. He made note of this, turning his gaze down her body, resting on her swollen ankle. Taking in this injury he found it miserably pathetic, yet his mouth continued to well with saliva, hot and sticky against his tongue and knife points lined up through his slick gums. As he breathed in this girl's fear a black moth landed on her bicep, skittering around to her deltoid hidden from her range of vision. The chase had been short.. but he had new idea in mind.

With his jaws parted, beads of black spit continued to slip down over his chin, pattering softly on the dirt beneath him as he assessed his prey. A pressure built in his skull, in his chest and in his groin while his wild expression creaked back towards her face. The Lich found her eyes wide open, along with her mouth, as she stared up at him in pure, undefined horror.

A few moments drew by in this way, long strands of oily spittle draining through his sharpened fangs as his tongue twirled and twisted in a lavish dance behind his canines. Vanilla paired well with the salty sweat drifting off of this human, tangling in his throat as the human's chest quivered. Gentle whimpers slipped through her lips as she shook her head, taking in the demonic entity studying her.

The woman began to weep once more, pain of an unknown origin seeping through her expression as she wildly began to beg, “ _no.._ _ **no**_ _.._ _ **p-please!**_ ”

Gaster held his position, lengthy breaths of air filling his lungs to only press outward over her curled form. She was lying there like a dying animal and begun to squeal like one.

“ _It wasn't supposed to happen like that!_ _ **IT'S MIKE'S FAULT NOT MINE PLEASE, DEAR GOD-!**_ ”

“I am here,” he muttered, the corners of his mouth hitching upwards as sparks of static fizzled and popped along his canines, tickling his tongue. The girl's eyes spilled forth more tears, her mouth hanging open as his words poured forth, “how long has it been since your last confession?”

She sputtered and shifted against the ground, trying to push away from him and he allowed it as she scrambled backwards and sobbed, “wh-what are you talking about?!”

“Catholic, are you not?” he cooed, a heaving in his chest wavering his speech in a sick laugh though the act went unnoticed on the girl as she couldn't help but to wheeze and kick further away from him. She winced as a rather strong tree dug into her spine from behind, halting her progress with the golden cross jingling at her sternum. The light flicking of black wings at the back of her arm went unnoticed as her fearful gaze was trapped by his ferocious appearance.

Slowly, carefully, the Lich extended his fingers and brought his hands up to show her the backs of them. Her eyes jolting between each limb, straight on the holes in his palms as he spoke with his magic humming through his bones, “I have come to deliver you from sin, little lamb.”

It took her a few moments as she pressed herself up against the tree, her phone forgotten at the foot of the crouching monster as she stuttered through hiccups and heaves of air, “n-nobody was s-supposed to get hurt-”

“How long has it been since your last confession,” he interrupted, his devilish expression etching further into his hardened face as he dropped his arms back down to hang loosely from his knees at the elbow. His claws hanging idly, half curled and jagged.

“I.. I-i..” she choked, fresh tears streaming down her face as the answer slipped forth, “f-five months..”

“May God, the Father, help you make a commendable Confession,” he said with ease, his voice seeming to echo across the gully as he eyed her in the most intimate way, witnessing her very soul shake and dim before him. It wasn't too much longer before she spoke, she learned quickly.

“F-forgive me.. F-father, f-for I have.. sinned.”

The Lich held his jaws open, the corners of his mouth slightly twitching as a hot breath washed from his lungs and stirred the settling cloud of dust. The deep grin spread over his features showcased his obsidian gums, dripping in effervescent oil.

“I.. I witnessed a cr-crime-”she heaved, her lips trembling as she found her gaze held in place by the critical, feral pupils of the Lich, “an-and I did nothing-”

She began to sob once more, pulling both of her hands up to her mouth to try to muffle her desperate, panicked emotions. The monster waited patiently, his magic churning and laying thick along the ground in a dark fog as the woman went on, “I g-gave i-into re-revenge.. p-please..” her words trailed into a whisper as he spun his ancient dialect across his tongue, static sparking along the syllables.

“Continue, bear me your Sins.”

She shook her head, her voice muffled behind her palms as she cried, _“L-let me go, p-please.._ _ **p-please, oh my God-!**_ _”_

Gaster drew in a deep breath, his tongue wriggling beneath the scent of vanilla, blood and salt as she took her time regaining herself. The ache in his groin grew the longer this woman panicked and he had even yet to touch her, his pupils wavered as her frantic attention jolted over his face. Her hands slowly left her mouth, hovering in front of her throat, she went on painfully against the raspy ache in her windpipe, “M-mike st-started hitting he-her when sh-she.. u-used magic. Sh-she used m-magic-! He w-was sc-scared, I w-was sc-scared- I.. I ran. I.. I left h-her  _th-there-_ ” 

The Lich rolled his shoulders slowly, the bones in his sockets grinding along one another as he hunched further and trained his predatory gaze onto the woman as she tried to scramble backwards but the tree was still at her back. She kicked the ground uselessly with one leg while the other lay damaged against the ground, “j-just l-let me go! Please-! I kn-know you love her-”

Gaster found his eyes narrowing, his jaws closing as he slid an arm from his knee with his clawed digits splaying out across the ground before him.

“-she w-wasn't supposed t-to get hurt! M-mike wa-wasn't supposed to- to..” her lips halted as she pulled her legs away from the beast before her, the damaged ankle shooting hot iron through her muscles yet with the monster pressing forward into a crawl, the pain was not enough to stop her sheer terror.

“W-wait-!” she begged, her words falling on deaf ears as she repeated this mantra while the Lich simply began to shift a leg forward and pressed himself out towards her. His massive form easily covering the distance as her eyes shifted over his approaching body, her gaze snagging at his crotch and only turned her begging into mass hysteria.

Her cries fell on deaf ears as he loomed above her fragile body, an arm a strong column just past her shoulder while he hovered a hand to the side, the digits twitching and stroking the air in an intimate wave. On the tips of his toes he poised himself fully in a lengthened crouch and tilted his head to the side, his sharp, jagged jaws drawing towards her face as she scrunched back down into the dirt. Her chest and throat heaved with pathetic wails, the golden token glimmering valiantly, uselessly, against the dark fabric of her pull over. 

“Shhh..” he hissed, black drool oozing down onto her chest and neck as flecks of the hot oil landed upon her cheek. 

The woman closed her eyes tightly, jerking her head away from him as her body trembled. 

“Do you not believe in my omnipotent power..?” he mused, his free hand trailing up towards the delicate jewelry on her chest.

She whimpered, cowering beneath the Lord of the Dead as his claws gently scooped up the trinket. The soft clinking of the metal opening her eyelids as she glanced over, panting, and saw him fiddling with her necklace. His white eyes quickly flicked up, catching her gaze as he dipped his chin down with his jaws magnificently displayed in utter madness as she stammered.

“Y-you.. you-”

“I, what-?” he muttered, drawing his fingers up around the cross, snuffing it's golden aura from her field of vision as tremors took hold of her body.

“Y-you're touching.. m-my cross..?”

Confusion broke over her expression as the Lich began to gently laugh, his body shuddering as he tightened his grip on the small metal piece digging into the uppermost part of his palm.

“Why, little lamb, would it affect me?”

“Y-you're..” she started, her mouth hanging open as his eye sockets narrowed down to her, he pushed his jaws closer to her and the tension broke her censorship as she spat, “a  _demon._ ”

“I-” he growled, the noise scratching through his throat as he ripped the chain free from her neck, causing her to yelp as the act dug into her skin, “-am the embodiment of Sin.”

The tender ache in her neck from the necklace could not distract her from the pressing breath brushing over her face, the monster's flavors laced in gasoline. The chain dangled from his fist, flicking sparks of light into her peripheral vision as his fangs clicked together while he warbled, “I am mightier than your ' _Christ.'_ ”

He flung his arm to the side, sending the piece of glinting metal to tumble through the air, skittering against the uneven ground to lie cold and meaningless against the dirt. Alise drew her hands up to her chest, shaking against the ground and the tree she could only wheeze through her pounding heart. The unholy deity looming above her pressed his face eerily close, his breath like decay as he snarled, “the only afterlife you will see, the  _salvation_ promised by your _'God'-_ ”

Bringing his hand back towards her she flinched and whined, shutting her eyes and tossed her face into her shoulder as his fingertips brushed across her cheek, “-is a hole, two foot wide and six deep.”

He pressed his hand further along the side of her face towards the back of her neck, digging his thumb into her flesh to trace his claw just under her cheek bone and drew a thin, red line across her skin which blossomed in quaint crimson beads. The scent stimulated him, his jaws snapping together loudly and made her jolt as she cried out. Her fear was paralyzing her, unable to move, unable to do much else besides blubber and tremble.

Tipping his wrist he pressed the pad of his thumb into the gentle cut, smearing the substance along her cheek in a slow stroke while he murmured, “little lamb, the only true, omnipotent, force of life is pain, blood, and Death.”

“Y-you're wrong-” she whimpered, his sockets twitching as he smeared the red velvet down to her jawline, “th-there is.. th-there is life, b-birth-”

“Mothers succumb, babes born in blood,” he snorted, his fingertips sliding along her bottom mandible, “bitter wine, and End.”

Gripping onto the very bone he turned her face back towards him, deep, acrid waves of hot air tussling her hair as he spoke with authority, “Now.. are these all of your sins, little lamb?”

This religious experience was far more powerful, far more real, than anything she had ever endured. She knew better than to give into this monster, to listen to him.. yet she couldn't help but to. The stinging against the side of her face made her feel alive, adrenaline coursing through her body as she kept her eyes closed, his words lacing against her features as he growled, “are you not being sincere..?”

His words drove into her ears, worming their way through her skull, down her throat and nestled within the cavity of her chest to scorch her esophagus with bile as she swallowed and shook. She did not have the courage to open her eyes as she fumbled, “I a-am so-sorry f-for th-these an-and all o-of my s-sins.”

A hard warble broke through his chest, his exhale hitching and snagging on a thrumming, reverberation that tore up through his windpipe in a sinister, demonic sign of amusement, “bring me your penitence.”

“Oh, m-my God-” she began, tears bristling forth from her eyes and down her cheeks as he held her firm, his head slowly tilting to the other side as she went on, “I a-am hea-heartily s-sorry f-for ha-having off-offended Th-thee-”

As he listened his jaws began to part fully, black strings of putrid oil clinging to the sharp edges of his teeth as she sobbed. The wetness of her salty rivers coated his fingertips, along with the gentle tinge of red. She struggled to speak through such a merciless grasp, “I de-detest a-all of m-my sins be-because of Th-thy j-just pu-punishments-” she winced, a choking sob working through her throat yet he merely held her tighter until she continued.

“-bu-but mo-most of a-all be-because th-they off-offend Th-thee, m-my God, wh-who a-are all g-good an-and des-deserving of a-all of m-my love-”

“Indeed,” he mused, tilting her head away from him to bare her naked, soft neck as she fussed beneath him. His tongue tossed and rolled within his jaws as he drew near, remembering how easily that human's skull had given way.. how wet and soft such violence must be to snap a neck so intimately.

Her whimpers were barely audibly, “p-please.. d-don't r-rape me..”

The Lich paused his motions towards her, a disgusted snort catching in his throat as she begged, “ _p-ple-please.._ ”

Snapping his face up to the side of her skull, he shoved his teeth against her temple and grumbled, “the mere mention of soiling myself with such wretched flesh is sacrilege.”

Alise gasped and cried out as his fingers began to creak her jaw against the socket from how violent his grasp was. His words were no longer velvety but instead were acidic vibrations bouncing into her brain whilst his teeth gnashed at the side of her head, “I would rather be felched by a hound than ever entangle with such a sniveling louse as yourself.”

For some reason his words struck deep, the woman shivering and wept as he held her firmly. Soaking in her upset as her hands finally found his wrist and clutched at him lifelessly, the fight having been bled from her weak soul as she began to beg for her release once more. She kicked pathetically beneath him, the flavors in his jaws becoming bitter as he snarled. The noise was grating, pressure drawing into her skull at such force her eyes rolled and fingers fell limp against his bony wrist.

Her high hopes had reminded him of conscious thought.

Such wishful thinking of the human in his grasp had utterly snubbed his craving of vanilla tinged blood, it now stained his throat with cracked embers as he found his mind drifting to the pleasant consumption of daisies and the squirming of a body whose gentle moans and stressed breathing sparked a warmth in his rib cage. Black, pristine markings pulsed in his vision, laying upon delicate flesh that wished to twist beneath his prodding tongue. Arching, aching spines twisting in unison, a pull drew into his chest on the left hand side as these images stroked provoking desire through his mind.

A hard shudder hammered through his soul and while this human began to really kick, striking outward at his chest and forearm, he couldn't shake himself internally. Golden energy slipped along his fibrous tissue, caressing his magic at a gentle rhythm that beckoned his return, craved and sung to him. A woman worthy of lying with.

A hot burst of air hissed through his clenched jaws, slamming into the side of Alise's head as her cries of desperation were mere whispers in the background, he was unable to break through this new fixation setting in. Images of his mate drew forth to his minds eye, his sockets beginning to close as he remembered her quivering attempts to breathe beneath his large form, crushing her so sweetly. Her voice then struck forward from memory, a tentative, pained moan laced with his name.

Electricity jolted through his wretched, deformed spine, outward into his limbs and shook him free of this spell. His grip loosened just enough that the woman managed to throw herself to the ground, prying free of his clutches. The Lich's critical gaze drew downward as this human pathetically wallowed and crawled away from him, a hard throbbing settling deep within his gut and groin as this human's scrambled escape.

It would be easy to end this hunt, one bite to the back of the neck.. yet he found himself holding still as the human dug her fingernails into the dirt and drug herself out from under him, her damaged leg twitching as it was pulled, limp, behind her.

Snorting bits of black ooze peppered the air as his jaws began to close, hot, churning clouds of steam raising from his mouth. This hunt already _was_ over, no further sport remained.

A new prowl was on his mind now as the increase in golden energy twisted through his body, cooling the heat of his sweltering hide. It was almost as if her small, gentle fingers were tracing the scars of his disturbed, unnatural body. Tender and sincere.

“P-please.. pl-please l-let me go..” the woman cried, her face falling into the hook of her arm, face down as her body heaved and shook.

As the Lich observed this scene his eyes began to process a different one, the betrayed glare in his mate's eyes burned holes into the back of his head as her similar sobs wracked through his memory.

_'You're making me fucking hate you!'_

The monster then stood, straightening up as he turned and stepped away while the woman peered out from her arm and sniveled, “y-you.. y-you aren't.. you aren't g-going to.. k-kill me?”

“Kill yourself,” he spat, kicking her device across the ground to clatter and tumble across the ground to only nail her straight in the face.

A loud crack rang out from the direct hit, she yelped and grasped at her face. Hissing and sobbing from the impact as she lay sprawled in the dirt, sweat and dust coating her body as the Lich's heavy presence lifted from the gully.

The soft sounds of the trees filtered back into existence around her, a cool breeze easing her aches and nausea as she scrambled to pick up her phone and glanced around wildly. Still fearful, still regaining her mind through the pain and terror she opened her phone to find her chat log. The mysterious blank message system was gone. Frantically she tapped through the screen and pulled the phone up to her face, beginning to sob for help.

The lights of her friends home at the end of the gully flicked on, a beacon far off in the distance while the golden cross lay dormant in the dusty, barren Earth.

 

***

 

Gaster landed in the dark, small room with his white eyes flicking over his surroundings. The door was still wide open, casting a bright white beam of light across the floor and bathed his dusty shins. He summoned a hand to carefully ease the wooden panel back to the broken latch, leading the panel with it's fingertips and effectively cut the bright light from the quiet atmosphere. The hinges held fast and kept the door closed as the bony apparition crumbled inwards and morphed into a large black moth. The creature landed on the hard surface, skittering around with it's torn wing flicking as the monster drew his attention over to the woman laying sprawled over the sheets.

His sockets twitched, drinking in her form as she lay unknowing of his presence, the ache in his groin pulled his clawed hand into his jeans to adjust himself more comfortably while he took a step forward. He tucked his hardened shaft against his lower abdomen, his length drawing upwards from his jeans but he merely pulled his hand free and shook his dark gray jacket over his belt. A silent rumble shook through his chest while his dilating pupils studied the woman laying before him.

She had her free arm bent over her face, possibly an attempt to ease the headaches. Small ear buds were lodged in her ears, holding onto her cellphone in her right hand, the faintest tinge of music purring into the air as he drew closer to her bedside and flicked his eyes down her arm to see the IV newly sunk in. The flesh around the injection was beginning to bruise from how many times she had been prodded, his jaw clenched before he forced himself to relax back down. The excitement from his chase was still fresh in his mind, overstimulating his senses and made him rather critical.

A gentle breath of air passed through his maw against the tension having wound his muscles tight, his magic churning like boiling water in his chest. He flicked his gaze over her form, his eyes focusing in on the soft contours of her torso. A makeshift wrap was around her bare midsection, her shirt hiked up just beneath her breasts as an ice pack was being held against her damaged side with some bandages. A soft exhale pressed through his jaws as he pulled his hand up to his jaws, slipping his tongue across the red stain on his thumb.

This coppery flavor was bitter, yet he finished his pass before reaching towards her, his claws dipping outward to the soft skin of her stomach and as his jagged points trailed along her she breathed in deeply. As she stirred he merely pressed his fingers further down to her, his rough pads slipping up along her warm flesh to the cooler area of the side of her rib as she released a gentle moan.

 

“G..?” you murmured, the music still playing in your ears as you shifted against the sheets under the scalding touch of thick fingers grazing along your sensitive stomach. He didn't give you a response as his fingertips dipped up beneath the ice pack, instant pain making you suck in a harsh breath as you flinched away from him yet he just followed and rested his digits against your aching rib.

Angrily you tore your arm from your face, squinting through the dark room to find him closer than you realized. His dilated, white eyes peered down at you from beneath the heavy shadow of his drawn hood. He held a stoic expression with his chin tilted upwards as you hissed, “knock it off, prick! That hurts-”

He rolled his fingers downward, a choking gasp drawing through your throat as a gentle pounding throbbed in your skull as he muttered, “it shouldn't.”

The current song playing in your ears was fading, transitioning into the next one as you glared up at him and brought your free hand down to grip onto his wrist tightly yet your arm quivered from the effort to try being cruel.

Your words were venomous, “Stop. Touching. Me.”

There went your relaxing moment of peace, just when your aches and pains had become tolerable too.

His sockets began to narrow, his tongue tossing in his steaming jaws as he merely twisted his wrist and jabbed his fingertips right along the bone drawing a harsh, high pitched inhale while your body jerked and twisted away from him. Tears pricked in your livid eyes as the pain deadened your grip on him, your fingers slipping from his tattered wrist as he drew his hand out from under the ice pack and snorted.

Catching your breath he then moved for your arm, the IV drip nearly empty now yet as his claws drew near your flesh you released your phone, the device lightly bouncing against the mattress as you pulled your forearm away from him. His hand remained poised in the air, pausing while his claws twitched in heavy irritation. Scoffing up at him you held his gaze defiantly as his expression shattered into impatient intolerance. His sharp brows drew together, eye sockets narrowing with his shrinking pupils training in on your face as you hissed.

“I fucking meant it, _leave me alone._ ”

Heavy bass trickled into your ears from the ear buds yet another force wavered along your soul, the equipment around you trembling briefly as you held your glaring contest with the Lich. He drew his hand back, a sense of victory filling your mind. Yet, when his other came forward to join at his waist curiosity took over, your eyes flicking down to his groin and witnessed him pulling at his belt. The latches giving way as your expression wavered, flinching as he spoke and drew your gaze back up to his face.

“My dear..” with a jerk of his arm the leather belt drew from around his waist, flicking in the air with a crack before he flung his other hand outward and snatched up the thick strap, “you don't have a say in the matter.”

Your heart beat began to pick up, your eyes widening as he took a step forward along the side of the bed and wound the stained leather around his sharp knuckles. You scrunched away in reflex, with a snarl you hastily summoned forth two bony hands that hovered above you and blocked him from coming any closer. Gathering your confidence you shifted onto your side, wincing through the ache in your side as the Lich tilted his chin upwards with his jaws beginning to part in an odd, amused expression while the tip of his tongue flicked across his fangs.

“Like hell I don't-” you growled, keeping your IV ridden arm pinned to your chest with your phone being forgotten on the mattress beside you, “-you've been a complete jerk, I'm not playing this game with you.”

Your teeth bit into the side of your cheek, ignoring your fluttering heart as the monster perused your form with slow strokes of his white eyes that glistened beneath the heavy shadows of his hood. You could hear the leather creaking, straining, against the vicious grip and twisting the Lich was forcing the material to bear while the summoned hands before you began to tremble and waver.

 

Your fight, your fervor.. was worthy of his attention. He swallowed the welling drool pooling in his jaws, a harsh vibration trembling along his bones as a new hunt presented itself before him. You could try to hold him off, your energy was strong yet he was mightier. The bony apparitions began to shake and shiver, their bones clinking as his eyes landed directly within yours, staring straight into your being.

 

Focusing on the tightness of your sore back and abs you fought for control over the apparitions with the monster, his head tilting down as he braced down against the floor. It was a losing battle, a growl strained from your throat as the bony hands turned on you. Their fingers were twitching and grasping angrily at the air, the marks upon your neck flaring as they darted towards you and before you knew what was happening the scientist surged forth.

Eyes wide, mouth opening to try to scream the bony apparitions snatched up your wrists and slammed them above your head as the monster landed above you and shoved the bitter black strap between your teeth with his hands pressing into the pillow on either sides of your head. Landing on his knees on the sheets. Your cries were muffled as you gagged, trying to twist your head away from him yet he only lowered his face down towards you, his pin prick eyes studying your stressed figure.

Tugging at your arms did no good and only caused pain to sear in the puncture wound on the side of your neck, in a determined act you groaned through the ache in your side as you brought your legs up and shoved your feet into the monster's bony hips. His pelvis digging into the base of your feet as you pushed at him with no real result besides him just shifting further above you, forcing your legs to spread as he leaned down into your attempts to hold him off.

A deep, dark chuckle spun through his chest as he hovered just barely above the black strap being coated in your translucent spit, “such fire..”

You squeaked, drawing your eyebrows together as your eyes shut from the bite of the leather digging into the corners of your mouth while your teeth scraped across the pristine surface. His words were heavy, putrid and dripping with malice, “how interesting that you would direct such wicked flame to me, your mate, your alpha and omega.”

His voice oddly echoed in his mouth, laced with a brimming pressure that thrummed against the strap between your teeth as you struggled to push at his hips with your legs yet they only began to shake from the effort. Unable to spit a response you just snorted, your eyes narrowing into his own as he adjusted the strap in his hands. The Lich enjoyed the soft vibrations of stress from the belt, it purred along his damaged palms, grinding audibly against his knuckles as another apparition appeared beside your face. Flicking your gaze over to the hand you watched as it extended a bony finger, snagging the thin wire and jerked the bud from your ear as he dipped his face up against the side of your face. His cheek brushed against yours, a hot breath caressing your ear as he whispered.

“Now, you can either tell me your pain so I may assess it.. or I will find it.”

You replied with a growl, glaring into the side of his face as his white eye trailed to the far corner of his socket to peer down at your stubborn show. A grin hitched at the corners of his mouth, something hot and slippery tracing along the far edge of your jawline before flicking across your earlobe as you shuddered and flinched away from him. The strap in your mouth digging painfully into the edges of your mouth now, snorting you pulled your legs back from his sides to only kick your heels up against the edges of his gut, catching your feet against his hip bones yet all it did was make him laugh.

“Feisty..” he purred, his tongue sweeping across his fangs while his jaws yawned open. Steam billowing up from his wretched throat, “that's good, _tantalize me.._ ”

Static sparked through his mouth as a light pant brushed through his canines into the side of your face. The hot burst of air tickling the warm slick across your skin as he continued, “just remember, darling.. these walls are quite thin.”

A shiver ran through your spine, your legs quivering from the battle of his pressing weight attempting to bring him closer. You held fast, not willing to give in to him as you grunted and kept pushing back at his waist valiantly. He didn't seem to notice your defiance as he pulled his head up, displaying his strong neck down to you as he focused on the IV still stuck in your forearm. A deep, acrid sigh pressed from his chest and caressed hot air along your arms while your body wriggled, struggling against him to the best of your abilities.

You tried reaching for his magic yet it would just slip from your grasp, the pain in your side turning into an intolerable snag that forced your body to settle down and as you did the monster eased up on the strap. Slowly he took the leather from your mouth, the thick, hard edges clinging with translucent film while you sputtered. The bitter taste staining your tongue only added to your increasing irritation, stretching your jaw you spat under your breath, “jackass.”

He ignored you, tensing his core as he shoved a knee forward to better brace himself against the small bed as he lifted the strap up to your wrists. Your eyes went wide, gasping as you felt the thick, damp leather curl and wind around your forearms, ending up at your gathered wrists in a gentle bond. Craning your head back you tried to see what he was doing as you hissed, “you're just making my headache worse-!”

“Be quiet,” he muttered, the leather snapping tightly around your flesh as the bony apparitions released you to tie the end of the belt to the frame of the bed. You pulled and twisted at your arms as the Lich set his elbow into the mattress at the side of your head, his gaze studying the IV resting in your flesh. The Lich drew his face and free hand up to the needle, hard reverberations tickled into your heels as he growled, “or I'll give you something to writhe about.”

“Tcht-!” you snorted, ignoring his threat as you felt his fingers wrap around your arm, near the injection site as his hips pressed further down towards you, “so you go and fuck off all day, come back, tie me up and harass me without so much as a hello-?!”

Your words were cut off with a gasp, your body jolting as your feet slipped from his waist and he plunged his groin heavily against the heat between your thighs. A heavy, throbbing bulge grinding against you as he dipped his hips and ran the length of his concealed shaft along you, a pant brushing through his maw from above as you whimpered and twisted beneath him.

His eyes warbled oddly in his sockets, his spine shivering their notched brackets against one another as he dipped his hips back down. Your body shuddered against him as a pant left your own lips while the head of his shaft snagged at the underside of your ass and ground upwards heavily against your heat, the edge of his jeans following the prominent lead of his length sticking up from the top of his belt line.

The rough motions of his clear arousal left you breathless, your eyelids fluttering as he only repeated this motion with a violent shove forwards, rocking your body painfully down against the mattress as he dipped his face down to the top of your head, snarling, “warm regards, you nagging bitch.”

Gasping, tears threatened your vision once more. Clenching your teeth together you stifled a groan, the pain in your side and gentle headache driving into your brain was starting to make you feel sick as he kept you pinned beneath him. You could feel his pulsing manhood wedged against your mound yet you still tried to hook your heels up against his waist, growling through a gentle whimper quivering in your throat as he turned his attention back to your arm and leaned further over you to draw in a heavy breath above the needle.

The Lich snorted against your forearm as he brought his claws forth and peeled the tape back, your voice mumbling below, suppressing your emotions, “I'd rather that stay in-”

“Don't worry, my dear.. I'll fill you with something more suitable soon enough.”

You were silenced by another deep grind of his cock, the hard fabric of his jeans digging uncomfortably at your inner thighs as you muttered bitterly, disguising the growing heat in your stomach, “bastard.”

Gaster slowly peeled the tape from your skin, his eyes trailing on the needle as he took in another breath but the scent of blood drown the possibilities of what the medicine could be. Carefully he pulled the needle from your arm, your body flinching from the sensation as he opened his jaws and drew the glistening metal towards his face. He swiped the warm needle across his oily tongue, savoring the flavors at his palate while a soft pant pressed from his throat at the taste of your blood. Your life's essence tingled along his taste buds, nearly smothering the gentle chemicals digging into his gums.

He tossed the IV off the side of the bed as you sighed in irritation beneath him yet he just slid his arm at the side of you up under the pillow, propping your head up towards him as he ducked his face down and quickly lapped up the bead of crimson slipping down your lukewarm flesh. His pupils quivered, rolling into the back of his skull as his body gave a deep rock down against your frame. A whimper bit through your lungs as his motions jostled your rib, a light throbbing pounding into your temples.

While his tongue passed over the gentle bruising welling up against the crook of your arm you shuddered, hearing movement down the hall, but it didn't even register to the Lich as you murmured, “what, so _now_ you don't want me drugged up?”

He hummed, the vibrations trickling down his form as he released your arm and trailed his fingers downward. His knuckled digits passed over your shoulder, down the side of your covered breast to your uninjured side to carefully cut away the bandage strapped around your midsection. You just gave another sigh, your face scrunching under the strain of the stabbing sensation in your side as he murmured, “not with such weak mixtures, pain was the only sedative being used here.”

You laid there, processing what he had said while his claws ripped a tear in the bandages at your side when it suddenly hit you. Sans had purposefully given you a low dose to keep you in bed.

A groan slipped through your throat as you shoved your head back against the pillow, frustration welling within you while you couldn't help the quivering whimper pulling through your vocal chords. You shut your eyes tightly, wringing a delicate tear from between your eyelashes as you tried to bite down your emotions.

All of this was incredibly unfair and was making you incredibly, angry.

 

The Lich watched your expression from beneath him, his eyes caressing the side of your face just as you began to try thrashing back against him. Deja vu graced his mind of how he hovered above the vanilla scented girl, how she had crumbled like rotten mortar where as you were a smoldering furnace. Anything fed to you was consumed, devoured in molten fire and sparked your powerful soul. The increase in energy bleeding into his form made his bones ache, a gentle pant brushing through his fangs as he pulled his waist away from your groin and scrunched down the mattress to be eye level.

You refused to look at him, keeping your eyes shut while grinding your teeth together as another tear followed suit of the first, staining your skin as you felt the monster's breath against the side of your face. He carefully removed the bandages from around your torso, the ice pack falling uselessly onto the sheets beside you to be whisked away by a summoned hand along with the cut bandages.

An itch at the back of your mind alerted you to the fact he was staring at you, but your stubbornness had already solidified.

“Just leave me alone, G,” you grumbled, having to clear your throat from the tension constricting your windpipe as you felt the other ear bud slip out and was pulled down towards your phone.

A summoned hand bundled the white cord around your cellphone before setting it gently on the bedside table, next to the bent needle covered in blood having being forgotten there. The Lich had instructed no one touch it and they had left it alone, rightfully so. At least they could follow one instruction.

His clawed fingers trailed down over your sensitive stomach, you jolted away from his touch out of pure reflex as you hissed and spat into the side of your arm, “or ignore me, per usual.”

A heavy breath caressed the side of your face and neck, tussling the locks of hair resting against the pillow as he hummed, uninterested in your passive aggression. He hooked his thumb beneath your sweatpants and panties he began to pull them down, exposing your skin to the cold room as he ran his palm down your thigh to the side of your knee where a pair of bony hands took over for him as he pressed and groped back upwards to your hip.

You were trembling now, in rage as he hovered down to your jawline and nuzzled his maw along the tender arch of your neck, whispering, “I hear you.. my darling..”

The apparitions drew the fabric away from your ankles as you bent your knees up along the sides of the Lich, his form pressing back down to you as you heard his zipper draw downward. You shuddered, groaning in contempt as he shoved his tongue against your neck, savoring your flavors as his eyes trembled in excitement. With a hard pant he trailed his hand across your stomach and downward, his thumb brushing over your puffy folds as he murmured, “let's bleed this tension..”

“I'm not tense- I'm fucking _pissed off-_ ” you snarled, a flush drawing into your cheeks as he slipped the thick, knuckled digit against your wet entrance and ground up against your clit. A spark of electricity washed through your legs, a pant riding on your words at you spat, “-at everyone, especially _you._ ”

Behind your closed eyes you couldn't see the growing smirk tapering the edges of his mouth, his jaws parting as a gentle hiss whistled through his fangs and coiled around his tongue. Bending and pulling at your arms you tried to slip out from the leather, the light headache in your temples nothing compared to your seething emotions. A deep, dark urge to lash out and slap him in his smug face would probably be the only real satisfaction you could think of right now. Though, all you were able to accomplish was draw further strained noises from the thick, strong material binding your wrists and forearms.

 

His instinct was being stroked in just the right way, how you bit at him with such harsh words and how you still kept trying to pull at your bonds in a feeble attempt to possibly strike him truly began to entice him. The girl grovelling in the gully had been nice foreplay, but this was what he was craving. Daisies danced on his palate, a deep thrumming vibrating his bones while he glanced down your twisting form. There were still bruises coating your sides, especially over your damaged rib, but your vivacious attitude spat in the face of pain.

He wanted nothing more than to sink within you, absorb something far more intimate in the sharing of frustration and anger. His hunt had left him wound tight, his joints creaking as he rubbed against your sensitive, slick nub and was rewarded with sharp noises slipping from your throat to beat into your clenched teeth. His hips drew closer, his throbbing shaft hovering before your heated mound. Intricately he rolled his wrist, his thumb leaving you to press into the upper side of his shaft and brought it downward while his pointer finger continued to coax pleasure from your form.

The Lich wasn't expecting you to snarl at him, your eyelids cracking open into a wild glare into his subtle expression of amusement, “you really want me to hate you, don't you?”

A wavering reverberation trailed through his chest, hitching his breath in his throat amidst the static of his dark accent. His eyelids drooped while the edges of his mouth pulled freely into his sharp cheekbones to bare his gums to you, it was an ineffective display to your rage. The Lich pressed down into his shaft, guiding the scalding hot appendage to wedge right up against your slick entrance while a second finger jointed in the task of grinding along your clit in pressing rolls.

Your back shuddered at the sensation, a muffled whimper smothered itself in your throat as you drew your legs up to his sides and kicked into his hip bones as you snapped, “this is all I am to you, isn't it-?” you whipped your face over to snarl right against his bared teeth, your breaths intermixing as he began to press forward with his hips in a teasing stretch of your entrance yet it could not abate your anger, “-a nice fuck, right?!”

“My dear..” he uttered, his voice spinning in gravel while static popped against your lips, “give me your pain..”

He removed his hand from you, slipping his damp fingers up your side tenderly as he pressed forward and made you squirm from the burning sensation of him stretching you ever so slowly, “render your anger unto me..”

The Lich gazed down into your eyes as you clenched your bared teeth and winced, your eyes shutting tightly once more as he rolled forward and buried the head of his burning cock within your tight walls. The slightest moan left his throat, a shiver cascading over his spine as he ducked his hand up beneath you to grip along your wriggling spine. Even as you tried to shove at his waist he merely returned the favor and bucked down against you, his shaft throbbing heavily through your resistant body while he breathed, “release your spite.”

A breath was stuck in your throat as he eased his hips away to only nudge them forward again, pumping in a fluid motion to coax admittance to your shivering, defiant form. His claws dug into your back, edging the bruises resting against your flesh and you let out a soft, high pitched whimper while glaring daggers into his shrinking pupils.

You refused to give him pleasured sounds as he forced his way within you, a sick kind of comfort nestling into your soul as his thrusts were tender and deep. Pulling at your wrists only gave the creaking sound of leather as the belt bit into your forearms, your rib aching while your headache beat behind your eyes as you hissed, “spite is probably the only emotion you understand-”

Your words caught in your throat as he suddenly bucked and rammed into the back of you, your legs trembling as a strained gasp pulled through your lungs. Tilting your head back you closed your eyes and seethed, a pant breaking through your teeth as you jerked at your bonds and struck out with your legs to try easing him off but your ankles were simply caught in the tight grip of skeletal hands.

He shifted, stretching himself over top of you to fully roll his spine with the act of tender passion nudging his hips up against yours. A twisting knot of pressure built in your stomach as the bony hands extended your legs around his sharp hips and firmly clasped them at his lower back. The soft fabric of his gray jacket kissed your flesh as something thin was wrapped tightly around your interlocked ankles.

Bending and twisting your spine beneath him a soft cry pulled from your lungs, hot tears streaking down the sides of your face as he pressed his weight behind his movements and struck heavily against your cervix. Lowering himself fully over you he held off from actually resting his chest onto you, yet his strong collarbones hovered right before your lips. He dipped his face downward to your arms, his hot breath caressing your skin, coating them in an acrid humidity as he shushed you quietly.

“I have no qualms with visitors, my dear,” he began, a soft pant ripping through his words as you bit down on your bottom lip to suppress a whine while he rocked his pulsing shaft through your tight frame, “but I feel you would be opposed to such intrusions..”

A smirk hitched at his jaws, bucking forward to grind and ram against the back of your gut. A new pain sprung forth as you snapped your teeth shut, a heavy groan bleeding from your rib cage while he went on at a heavy murmur, “especially with such intimate attire binding your ankles..”

His words confused you for a moment, your legs pulling against one another to test the thin fabric but it was simply too tight to try feeling what it could be. Your testing allowed him to draw his slick, dark shaft from your quivering walls to only plunge back within you. Your body jolting and writhing below as he coaxed another row of subdued moans from your throat. Yanking at your arms and legs you compared the harsh leather with the thin fabric keeping your legs tied around him, your heart racing as you swallowed dryly and realized what he had done. He was using your panties to keep you tied up.

“You fucking, _edgelord_..” you breathed, your voice quivering against his hide as a gentle chuckle rolled through his lungs, beating down against you.

Without issuing a response the Lich tucked you further up against him, arching your back with the pull of his arm resting just beneath your purple bruises at your spine as his conscious mind was whisked away. Drawing in a deep breath the gentle tinge of your coppery life blood left him craving, the white pin pricks of his eyes drawing to the bruised curve of your arm in which a bead of crimson clung to your flesh.

Carnal possession gripped through him, his motions becoming ragged as you tried to remain poised yet your squirming only became more persistent. A choked whimper bled through your lungs as he dipped the side of his cracked face against your delicate skin, you were cold in comparison to his sweltering hide. Brushing his jawline up along your arm he parted his mouth, his tongue twisting behind his fangs before lolling forth to press against the curve of your arm. The tiny morsel slipped easily across the oily tendril yet he wanted more, a hard pant pressing from his chest as he gave a violent roll forward and struck against your cervix with a dominating force.

His aggressive pace was striking the tinder within your very core, sparks of pleasure washed across the pain being done unto your form and with a sharp jerk forward you bit onto the base of the Lich's strong neck. His pelt shuddered beneath your teeth, a humming vibration trailing along his spine while he continued to rock and slice through you like a knife. The scent of your sweat, of your rage and your togetherness wafted through the small room and further enraptured the monster. Your breath hitching with desperate whimpers, blurring the lines between passion and torment.

Without hesitation his jaws enclosed around your small arm, his tongue twisting and grinding against the sensitive bruises forming on your flesh as he scavenged for the sweet nectar of copper. The tight fit of your body, shuddering and giving way to his desire, stroked his instinct like no other as your muffled, stressed noises buried into his fibrous sinew. These sounds were feeding his soul, driving his sharp teeth against your reddening flesh as you yipped and twisted at your arms but the leather simply groaned with the effort to keep you still.

The longer this row went, the harder his hips became. The driving force not only being lust but something dark, something strange and wicked as he struck through your sore, aching walls. His violence was not new to you, though instead of panic or fear it only spiked loathing into your heart. Digging your fangs down against his skin you snarled, your jaws shaking under the merciless bite you scrawled across his neck. His impatient thrusting struck jolts of electricity through your form, your muscles tensing as a spring coiled deep within your core as he teased and edged that deep itch within you.

You hated him. His fangs scratched apart the sensitive flesh of your arm as a muffled, pained mewl seeped into his strong flesh from your lips.

You craved him. A tear rolled down your cheek as he struck you just right, your spine arching as your hips ground along with his own. That tension becoming unbearable as he pulled away from your arm, his fangs scraping your skin before his oily, scalding tongue lapped across the raising lines in your bruises.

He grunted, his face dipping down towards the top of your head as his breath burst from his chest, caressing the side of your cheek and neck. The air whispered against your ear, the slightest tinge of his voice purred, “you may hold contempt for me, my dear..”

Drawing in a sharp breath he groaned, low and intimately above you as his cock drove deep, prodding along every last piece of your mind, body and soul and he neared you to the tipping point, “etch your loathing into my hide-”

The vibrations from his voice, from his private, passionate vocal inflections was just enough to pair with his vicious bucking to tip you over the edge. He rammed right into the knot in your stomach, your body twisting as a drawn out, raspy cry was smothered into his skin, tickling the soft scars raised from his white flesh while he released a snarl. His obsidian gums glistened in the air above your scalp as convulsions fluttered your tight walls around his shaft, “add your hatred to my gallery- with the rest.”

The Lich drew in a harsh breath, a warbling, hitching growl tumbled like thunder from his chest as he rode out your climax and pushed himself to his own. Acidic, black ropes of his essence coated your insides, spilling forth to coat your trembling thighs as with one final thrust he buried himself against you. A hard, vicious stab dug upwards through your gut but as you writhed with tears spilling from your eyes in a silent scream the iron hot pain was burned away to a gentle ache.

Overwhelmed, shaking and nearly wheezing, your teeth slipped from his hide with your head hitting the pillow below as you panted and trembled in his arms. The scorching seed of the Lich lay thick in your body, dribbling down to cling against your ass and the sheets while his abdomen twitched and pulsed against your abused mound. His chest was heaving above you, the heat radiating from his form quickly dried your tears as he tenderly touched the side of his jaw to your scalp while he closed his sockets and shut his mouth.

Panting, quivering and bathing in euphoria your spine settled back into his hand beneath you as the words tumbled from your tongue with, laden in emotion, “I don't want to hate you, G..”

He carefully slid his hand up your spine, nestling under your shoulder blades as he remained hilted within you while his passions simmered. Slowly, his sockets began to open, the white pupils of his eyes shivering and growing to a neutral state while you panted and whimpered beneath him.

“I.. I j-just want to be your equal..” your voice fluctuated, catching on a forming lump in your throat as he listened, his breath combing through your hair, “I.. I w-want to be.. treated a-as more than a.. _possession._ ”

Lying limp and sore beneath him you could still feel his manhood throbbing within you, his need seeming hardly dented and as he took a hand out from under your back. You whimpered, expecting another round yet he simply outstretched his arm and toyed with something above your hands. With a heavy snort the leather fell loose around your forearms, your bottom lip quivered as you carefully unwound your wrists from the strap and pulled them back down. You winced through the pain in your shoulders from your struggles, your elbows resting on the sheets beside his own while your palms laid upon his carved biceps.

Too tired, too in pain, to open your eyes you felt his thumb carefully caress the side of your face as you swallowed and whimpered, attempting to catch your breath as he shifted and without a word his hand slipped back underneath you. He drew you against his chest as he braced himself against the small bed and growled, the reverberations digging into your frame as he lifted you from the sheets. Squeaking, your fingertips dug into his arms as he drew you upward, rolling back onto his ass he sat with you up in his arms, nestled against his lap.

Slipping his legs out beneath you he ran his hands over your back, drawing one of them up to the back of your neck while the other traced down the notches of your spine as he murmured, “ _'your alpha and omega'_ , of course you are my equal, my dear.”

Your legs trembled at his sides, still being tied at the ankle by your panties while he kept you speared on his shaft. Soft trembles coursed through your body as you leaned your forehead against his collarbone, panting laboriously as he brushed his voice across the side of your head, “your stubborn spirit is detrimental to your recovery, at least with my medicines you were not in pain though that freedom made you restless, reckless.”

Carefully you slid your hands up his arms, tilting your head up as your eyelids fluttered open while he caressed down along your slender back. You met his eyes, the shadow of his hood obscuring his features. You watched how his jaw subtly rolled as he murmured in his odd accent, “I know you wish for me to be here, darling..”

You leaned back from his chest, drawing your hands up to his hood and slowly pushed it back from his face as he studied your expression. The dark fabric fell against his shoulders, your hands following to rest up against the sides of his neck. He watched as your eyes roamed his rather flat appearance, the both of you still shrouded in darkness yet the white light of his eyes licked across his sharp cheekbones, “yet I can not remain here, not while such a threat roams the city free of punishment.”

The words tumbled out of your mouth as you locked your eyes onto the white, shimmering orbs resting within his pitch black sockets, “you hurt someone today, didn't you..?”

He drew in a deep breath and slowly released it, his mouth parting as he leaned down towards you with his eyelids drooping, “she may have lured you, but she was too pathetic to execute.”

You blinked at him, he was talking about that girl that bait and switched your phone.

He had planned on.. murdering her.. your bottom lip slipped between your teeth nervously, the closeness of your intimate connection not enough to lighten this information.

His hand trailed down over your gentle side to rest gripped into your waist, the hot sludge of his essence still seeping from your folds as he lowered his voice, “I did not bring any of those humans down, not tonight.. but I will.”

“G..” you sighed, your back arching as you drew your face up to him, your fingers gripping into the fabric of his hood at his shoulders, “don't do this anymore.. you don't need to-”

“My dear,” he interjected, static hissing on his syllables, “look down.”

Scrunching your brow you tentatively obeyed, your gaze following the strong outline of his jaw to his throat, his adam's apple twitching as he spoke, “feast your eyes on my wounds.”

Swallowing dryly your hands slipped from his hood and trailed over his chest as your eyes focused in on the large tapering scar licking up along the side of his neck, carefully, you unzipped the dark gray hood and brought your hands up to rest on his tattered chest. Your eyes taking in the long, wretched scar trailing from his throat to his abdomen while your fingertips gently traced over the various nicks, scraps and gouges of his flesh.

“This is the hatred of Humanity.”

You nodded, remembering seeing him the first time like this, his appearance wasn't new to you though you still frowned as he went on.

“This is what they will do to you-” you jolted your gaze upward, finding his expression stoic, serious, “-So, I will bring the rest the atonement of Death.”

“G, if people get put in jail they can't get to me-”

“It is about the lesson given,” he muttered, drawing his fingers up against the nape of your neck, pulling you close as his scars tickled your bare stomach, “the permanence of the deceased will ensure it was a lesson learned.”

A pang rang out through your soul, your fingertips digging into his hide as the Lich's sockets twitched. An odd pressure began tugging in his stomach as he watched your expression become pained yet he hadn't even moved, the obvious soreness of your body was plain as day yet your words were dripping in.. pain, regardless.

“You're going to get yourself hurt- you fucking idiot-!” you hissed, tears pricking at your eyes, “-you can't just.. _kill_ people.”

“I did,” he snorted, his brows drawing together as you growled.

“No- I'm not saying you _physically_ can't, I'm saying you _morally_ can't!”

Exhaling in a harsh pant you dropped your voice and brought your hands up to his neck, your thumbs resting at the edges of his jawline, “what you did to.. to Beck, to Robert, that was considered self defense. What you are doing now, what you are planning.. that's murder-”

“It's deserved, not everyone should have the right to live.”

“What about me- _What about you?!_ ”

Your voice pierced the room, the stillness encompassing the soft breathing shared between the both of you as you sat in the ringing thrum trickling through the equipment. Panting gently you summoned a hand to help you slip your ankles from their bonds and shifted on his lap, wincing with a soft moan as you adjusted yourself and bent your knees up higher against his ribs, setting your toes down into the sheets as you crossed your calves and embraced him with your intimate thighs beneath his open jacket.

Gathering your thoughts you stared up at his stoic expression, your fingers trailing down his throat coming to a stop at the base of his strong neck ripped in numerous scars yet you found your fingers slipping beneath his jacket to trail over the scar he earned for you back in the underground.

“These people..” you began, flicking your tongue over your lips as you stared into his shining, white eyes, “I know they're going after you, they must feel as if you don't.. that you sh-shouldn't-” you couldn't say it, tears welling in your eyes as whimpers peppered your voice.

The Lich's eyes narrowed, his mouth drawing into a hard line. An odd, rocky stone twisted in his chest as he watched you struggle to find your courage. His claws twitched against your skin as you fumbled, blinking through your clouding vision, “I know what you're like, I _know_ you're terrifying to most people- I know they.. th-they-”

Your jaw began to ache from the effort to remain composed, he drew his hand up to the back of your skull while he wrapped the other around your back and pressed you into his chest. Your face nuzzled into his collarbone as you tried to breath, your spine quivering beneath his hand while his eyes only narrowed further.

He knew what you were saying, but it wasn't words that were striking an odd sensation in him. It was your whimpers, your uncertainty.. your frailty. Not even during intimacy would you show such weakness, not even in your painful recovery would you let something as strong as this sink so deeply.

You tried to speak but he simply shushed you, resting his jaw down against the top of your head as he glared across the room to the equipment at your bedside.

Not either of you noticed how the door gently cracked open, Oliver sitting at ease on the wooden panel, undisturbed as you whispered.

“I-i just.. l-let's just go home..”

The Lich was silent as he held you, your toes tensing as you pressed the sides of your legs against his scalding body, his numerous scars were rough against your soft skin.

“S-stop acting this way..”

A sliver of light poured into the room, trailing across the floor behind the Lich as his back was towards the prying eyes focusing on your bare legs tucked around the monster, your soft, upset voice trailing into the room.

“Th-they need you.. to be here, to help these people. I-.. I need you, to be okay..”

He shushed you once more, his sockets closing as he turned his face into your hair, the bandage wrapped around your head digging into his face while his voice trickled down to you, “rest, my dear..”

Cradling your head with his hand he felt a warmth spread through him, an equally powerful force washing through your body and settled your anxious trembling. He spun his words delicately, “all is, and will be, well.”

“Promise me..” you murmured against his hide, shifting in his lap with a soft pant brushing through your lips.

He hummed, the deep reverberations stroking along your skin as he encapsulated you protectively and gave a gentle roll of his hips up against you. A soft, blissful moan slipped from your throat as he lowered his forehead to press into your scalp, breathing in the scent of your hair before he exhaled and murmured, “I promise, my dear.”

“G..” you panted, turning your head to face him as he purred, the bed itself thrumming in his influence while your lips met and effectively cut off what you were about to say.

He kept his arm locked around your back as your hips began to grind down into his lap, his stinging seed only bringing comfort and arousal to your worked up body. You were craving the distraction, the tenderness, yet an intense warmth gathered in your chest around your soul, the golden light shimmering against the black magic twisting around it. Sensations and passion ground into the both of you as your tongues met, tossing and rolling along each other as you panted into his oily jaws.

The Lich softly moaned, the warmth and feeling of this invasive.. emotion.. was not entirely unwelcome. He had remembered it while basking in the setting sun in your flat, although this time it raptured his broken soul with a vengeance. His motions matched this mood, deep and careful as you wrapped your arms up around his neck for leverage and began to ride him.

True, bleeding, sensuality entangled in your forms as the world began to fade away. The white, damaged body of the Lich moved in sync with your flushed, sweating form in a passionate courtship of affection. The monster's rage was chased away through the flavors of your tongue stroking along his, all that remained was the soft panting pressing down his throat, tinged with gentle moans of pleasure.

While your bodies rocked and tangled in one another, the soft sounds of intimacy graced the room yet the light having trickled across the floor remained.

An unbridled pressure built in your chest as you broke the kiss with the Lich, the both of you panting into each others parted mouths as you murmured, “I have to tell you something..”

“Shh,” he cooed, his hand carefully caressing the side of your neck to draw along your jawline to tip your lips back towards him as he breathed, barely above a whisper, “we have eternity..”

A light pant brushed through your throat as the both of you crashed back together, your jaws grinding in unison with your lavish affections.

The door remained cracked open yet you both were truly alone, working together to satisfy the other. Gentle moans turned to lewd panting, drawing into erratic gasps and whimpers amidst the Lich's deep, thundering growls of pleasure as you both had reached your second peak.

Quivering, drenched in sweat, and incredibly sore you still managed to have a smile on your lips as the monster brought you back down to the sheets on your back, his white eyes locking with yours.

He took a moment to rest his forehead against yours, inhaling your scent mixed with his own as he withdrew from your aching body, a gasp sucking into your lungs as he left you stained and dirty. Pleased with your reaction he carefully hovered above you on his hands and knees, his open jacket draping around you as you brought your hands up and gripped to the fabric, swallowing dryly as you murmured, “stay..”

His gaze softened, the slightest twinge of a sincere smile crossing his mouth as he exhaled, “if you wish, but first-” he pulled his mouth up against your forehead, his hardened face kissing your skin before he lifted his head above you, “-you need proper medication.”

Too tired to argue you just sighed and let your head roll to the side, closing your eyes and drawing your legs together to the side at a bend as he slipped from the bed. As he stood he shook his pelt, his clothing shivering against his frame before he adjusted himself back into his jeans and fastened them. Striding to the open cabinet his white gaze flicked over the contents, a breath pushing from his maw as he realized Claire had used the last of the small bottle he had manufactured. He would have to fetch a replacement from his office, where he had stowed them after he returned from the underground.

 

Swiping his tongue over his fangs he yawned, a shiver pulling into his chest before he exhaled and zipped up his gray hoodie half way as he turned towards the door and paused. His focus flicking over the light having crept into the room from the hall, closing his jaws he passed a glance to your exhausted form laying against the sheets with dark strains coating your thighs.

Perhaps the door simply fell inward, there was no latch to keep it shut after that human had kicked down the door.

He shrugged off the thought, regaining his focus as he sealed Oliver to the wood and pulled it open. With a flick of his wrist the door swung back into place behind him as he squinted through the hallway. The lights were dimmer, indicating the graveyard shift, yet it still took him a moment to adjust in his sensitive state as he casually stepped towards the lobby. He rolled and stretched not only his hips and shoulders but also his neck as he walked, a heavy puff of air bursting through his jaws. The intimacy had left him rather drained, a golden imprint of her affections coated his soul while the odd, comforting warmth remained.

In his mind, he had met his goals for the day. Tomorrow he would then cut the remaining loose ends.

He found himself trailing his train of thought back to what she had told him earlier today, trying to explain this odd phenomena occurring in his breast. How none of them had meant Level of Violence and instead were referring to a human emotion, to possibly even a monster emotion, Love.

_'-when you care about someone else more than yourself.'_

His tongue rolled absentmindedly behind his teeth, fermenting on this statement as he crossed through the wide open, desolate lobby. His footsteps hardly noticeable through the stillness. It was obvious she experienced vast emotion, much too complex for him to truly digest right now, though others had brought this word up as well.

Why did such a word hold so much power..?

Was it because of the fact that one could hold such influence over another?

He snorted, shaking his head as he crossed into the opposite hall, his eyes falling onto the double doors of his office. The Lich knew he was attached to the woman, she was fiery, bold and yet so graceful of word and predisposition. He had expected her to leave the underground, expected her to try to remove his mark but he did not expect the woman to imprint so heavily upon himself. She seemed to enjoy herself around him, holding quiet conversations with body language and subtle glances.

Did she feel as if she needed to adequate him? Where his needs and wants were held above her own..?

Did that not conflict with her previous grievance of feeling unequal?

Furrowing his brow the monster drew upon the doors to his office, these questions itching the back of his mind as he pressed into the room and instantly locked onto the figures standing at his machine.

Without skipping a beat he continued forth into his office, drawing an authoritative aura as Alphys and Sans turned to watch him stride through the large room without a word. The two gave each other nervous glances as the large monster drew towards his desk, rounding the edge as Sans spoke.

“If yer done _joy ridin'_ -” he muttered, his sockets narrowing as the Lich met his gaze with a blank expression, the harsh scars of his hide glistening in the light while he opened a drawer to his desk, “-yer experiment is outta whack.”

The crack in the door, it hadn't been coincidence after all. The two undead creature's eyes met, their sockets narrowing in tandem as Alphys nervously stepped back from the skeleton, averting her gaze.

Ah, so she knew as well. Although, it could simply be his scent.

“With such prying eyes as yours, Sans,” the Lich began as he plucked a glass vial from the drawer and shut it, “it is impressive you have not figured out how to adjust the machine, seems as if you still struggle with your hands.”

Sans suppressed a growl, his expression crumbling into clear, evident anger as Gaster tilted his chin up, displaying his throat and the gentle gray marks the woman's bite had drawn to the surface, his attention training on the vats above the two monsters. The secondary concoction was still and cooperative while his mix was nearly pulling itself apart, shuddering the acrylic and giving off flashes of bright light.

Alphys wasn't too sure of what he said as she brought her hands together and stammered, nervously gazing up at the bubbling mass of white, “w-we've tr-tried ev-everything..”

The Lich suddenly appeared right between them, studying the machine while the two flinched and steadily back pedaled, his scent much too harsh for their palates.

The aggressive concoction had been left alone for too long, the solution was relatively simple as he brought up his hand and made a few quick hand signs. As if entranced the white, churning blob began to settle and fell into a gentle, strong humming behind the acrylic.

“W-what..?” Alphys stammered, shocked.

“Unstable soul material will fight the pressure in the machine, I simply alleviated that pressure giving it space to.. 'breathe'.”

The skeleton glowered at the Lich, “if ya' do that to a weaker mix it'll fall apart.”

“Indeed,” he muttered, turning to stride past the monster back towards the doors, “that is why I only work with capable material.”

Sans growled, deep within his bones so that the moths resting within his rib cage began to flutter around beneath his jacket. It was a disgusting sensation yet the skeleton couldn't contain his rage as the scientist made his way from the room, the door closing with a loud click behind him that rang into the room as Alphys gently cleared her throat.

“M-maybe i-it's.. be-best to call it a n-night..”

“.. yea,” he murmured, jerking his gaze away from the door back up to the machine to watch the newly settled material thrum in sync with the docile version, “i can't take much more of this shit..”

The woman frowned, flicking her eyes to the skeleton but he just glared upward at the machine, his magic churning in his bones.

He would never be able to get those noises out of his head.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With that marks the next break between chapters.  
> Finals are on the 2nd and 3rd of March so I am losing a bit of time to write since I have to study.  
> After that I will be chapter bombing hopefully within the next 7 days, we will just see how it goes as it's super important to me I give you guys one huge chapter drop all at once for what is going to happen. <3
> 
> Appreciate you guys so much, your support and conversations with me mean so much.  
> Thank you.~


	22. Flipside of 71

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drawing to the crescendo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took SO LONG to write and get published.  
> This story arch is going to be very, very, emotional. It was extremely complicated to piece together and plan and I can't thank dirtyskellylover enough for being my proof-reader towards the end.  
> I also wanna thank you guys for being so patient, understanding and supportive. 
> 
> I will not be updating the tags right away, as to avoid spoilers.  
> I AM GOING TO SAY RIGHT NOW- THIS STORY IS NOT OVER.  
> WE HAVE ONLY HIT THE MID-MARK OF THE PLOT ARCH, keep this in mind, please, as you read. <3
> 
> You know Aloe wouldn't hurt you guys..  
> For long.~

Dennis felt incredibly awkward as he sat at the counter with a cup of coffee as Jenny hummed and went about clearing their late breakfast.

Is this what relationships were like…?

Blinking, he stared into his cup of coffee, he had remembered passing out on the couch and woke up to the smell of bacon. Jenny had been so kind, so attentive and so… talkative. Maybe that was just how girls were though, he let out a gentle exhale as he brought the cup up to his lips just as there was a knock on the front door.

The woman dropped the plates in the sink and scampered to the door, he heard light conversation as he downed the hot beverage and pulled himself up from the counter to step over to the hallway, focusing in on the man in the doorway who was wearing a button up shirt beneath a vest, a gun strapped to his side beneath his arm. The sight made him nervous as the woman turned and smiled to him, extending her hand for the boy to step up to her.

“This is Dennis, he's my friend and he also knew Jake.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. I'm detective Carl Briggs,” the man nodded as the teen found himself shuffling forward.

The man extended his hand as Dennis was glued onto his face, the man's black mustache twitched as he smiled and shook his hand firmly. The boy let his hand fall as he stammered.

“H-hey…”

Jenny twirled back to the detective, her voice urgent, “can we go? I really, really, need to see my friend...”

Carl glanced back to the boy and nodded, “sure, apparently Doctor Gaster is in today for once so we have to move quickly anyways.”

Dennis found his heart beat picking up at the mention of the monster yet he hurried after the detective as Jenny snatched her keys and stepped from her flat, locking it behind her as they made their way to the lot.

In a few minutes they were outside, the warm air greeting them as they stepped towards the parking lot and Jenny chirped, “I'll just follow you guys! In case Sun can leave early and we can go out for dinner or something!”

The man exhaled through his nose as he nodded, drawing his gaze to the boy who nervously looked after the woman, “go on-” Dennis flicked his eyes back to the man, his nerves clearly showing, “-you don't want to ride with me anyways, I'm not into your generations... 'hip hop', thing.”

The boy smiled, stammering, “s-sure...”     

He made his way after the woman who was pulling open the door to a mazda sedan, he wasn't really into hip hop either but he took the excuse as he found himself sitting in the passenger seat while Jenny revved up the engine. He was trying to not let his nerves get to him as he buckled in though he was immediately startled as Jenny squealed at the radio and turned up the radio.

“Dennis, oh my god-!”

His mouth drew into a hard line as the lyrics filled the cab,

_ 'A few times I've been around that track _

__ __ _ So it's not just gonna happen like that _

__ __ _ 'Cause I ain't no hollaback girl-' _

“I haven't heard this song in forever-!”

Oh no.

“How long is this drive...?” he squeaked, being jostled in his seat as she was heavy on the accelerator, backing up out of her spot to follow behind the detective’s vehicle.

“Like, half an hour or something-! I unno- Sing with me, Den, I know you know this song!”

He couldn't. He just hid his pain behind a smile and stared out the window, rolling it down to get a nice breeze as the woman beside him sang like Bananas.

***

Lights.

The warehouse was buzzing, the afternoon sun glimmering through the broken windows to tinge and glimmer off of the hoisted hooks dangling from heavy chains. Gently twisting in an unnoticed breeze as voices and shouting echoed through the metal bearing their vicious, violent intent.

Camera.

Jake worked methodically in the box office, his hands deftly plucking through the buttons on a tripod with a medium sized device pointing through the shattered window to the ground. The screen displaying the walks of people scampering across the floor and catwalks before him, a red light blinking in the corner of the screen.

“Hey-” Mike chirped, strolling into the room while lightly swinging a broken hook in one hand, the curve had snapped halfway, “I think we are all set, it's nuts how many people showed up!”

The boy wore a grin yet the man kept his emotions well hidden. Jake cleared his throat as he turned back to the camera and stopped the test recording. He brought his attention out to the floor as cleaned, sharpened hooks lay dangling like ornaments of torture from the ceiling, a few had broken during testing but the majority held up well to the weight tests, “you sure you're ready for this, Mike...? Logan will have my ass if something happens, Beck only made us enough bullets for Jared’s hunting rifle-”

“No, I'm not leaving you guys like fuckin' Alise did,” he spat, slinging the metal over his shoulder and glanced through the various wires littering the floor from the two cameras poised through each corner of the broken window, ready to capture the action, “we have plenty of dart guns anyways-”

“Beck had a dart gun,” Jake snorted while the teen rolled his eyes.

“He didn’t use it-”

The man sighed heavily, the screams of his friend ringing in his ears, “he would have used that pistol.. I know he  _ must have. _ ”

“Well, we don’t know that for sure. You said it happened really quick anyways.. ugh, shit..” the boy sighed, tilting his head back to squint and blink at the ceiling. His stomach was starting to twist with knots, nervousness and anger bundling into one mass within his core.

“It's okay to run sometimes, Mike-” Jake muttered, his brows narrowing as the boy gathered himself, rolling his neck and shoulders as he stepped up beside the man and gazed out of the window,”-we’ve already had a few people bounce, but at least they still helped us rig the ceiling..”

The boy harrumphed, drumming his fingers on the metal as he turned his attention upward to the rafters. The heavy chains left in the warehouse were now being put to good use. Each rusted hook was fixed in place, welded and fastened to the support beams above with no additional planning in mind- the others though, the ones bearing the cleaned, sharpened, treated meat hooks.. that’s what really drew the plan together.

“Ya’ think we can snag it..?” the boy murmured, narrowing his eyes upwards to the complicated system as Jake panned his gaze back over to the dubious expression of the young man.

“It’s our best bet..” the man breathed, lightly waving his hand, “each treated hook it set to not only hold that things weight, but also give-”

“Yeah, yeah..” Mike sucked in through his teeth, shrugging, “if it lands on one hard enough, or fights, it will snap the bearing and nearly take it to the ground where it’ll snag on the real load bearing ring.”

Jake nodded, turning his gaze back to the floor as a few ground volunteers corralled to the wide open sliding door, preparing to close it as a few more volunteers took their leave, concealing the remainder within as the man added on.

“Just like fishing, a hard snag and boom- we’ll have it..”

They watched Jared and a few volunteers grab a hold of the sliding door and with his command they shoved and pushed the heavy metal door to a close. The metal groaned, creaking as it began to cut out the harsh daylight pouring onto the floor. As the light was cast out from the room, the door grunted as it was shut into place. The team began to hoot and clap, it was getting down to the wire.

Only one last thing to do now.

Jake lifted a hand, his voice booming through the facility and gathered everyone's attention. People on the catwalks paused, turning their gazes as a volunteer was already standing on a rusted hook, leaning to look over their shoulder as the people on the ground scampered to the middle of the room to look up at the man. Only a small handful of people remained, the others had chickened out- but it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t need that much man power to lure it in, to trap it, to destroy it.

“We appreciate all of you who have heard our cry for Justice!”

The volunteers grinned, hollering bouncing from the walls as Mike’s expression fell cold.

“We cannot allow such a dangerous creature, such violent and unholy vermin, to remain in our city!”

The men below snarled and threw their fists into the air.

“This thing  _ will not stop- _ ” he declared, leaning out of the window as he sneered, “-until it has  _ entire control _ over the city! Our government won’t do anything to leash it up, our monster loving laws will permit it to be free at large to  _ mark whoever, fuck whoever, and KILL WHOEVER IT WANTS! _ ”

Boo's erupted from the crowd, nearly a dozen people clamoring together in bitter hatred as Jake shouted over top of them while Jared just folded his arms and nodded.

“Well, I say  _ Fuck No! _ ”

They cheered, mirroring his rallying cry with their own.

“Today! By nightfall, we will take Justice into our own hands-!” the man beat his chest with his fist, the teen beside him drawing a smirk as the men and women on the catwalks beat their fists into the railing. Chains shook, thunder boomed through the room and echoed through their souls as Jake spat.

“-we will avenge our city-! We will avenge the safety of our friends, of our families-!”

“ _ With all of our efforts, we will take this unholy, demonic, Ghoul back to Hell from whence it came!” _

__ __ The souls of the valiant pulsed with purpose, cries ripping through their throats and metal clanked against metal. Hearts pounding as one with one common goal as Jake turned to Mike and murmured, passing him by, “I'll be back, make sure everyone is ready.”

Without a word Mike stepped up to the podium, directing his broken tool at those on the catwalks, helping them get into position on their untreated, rusted hooks. Four in total, three being occupied by volunteers, while one remained empty, where Jared would be. They had the most dangerous job to perform, being bait. The older gentleman wanted to lead by example, he wanted to show true bravery and held a sick sort of excitement at possibly being the lure to the beast’s entrapment, and eventual demise.

Jake quickly trudged down the metal steps to the floor while Jared met him at the bottom and clasped his hand on his shoulder, dipping his head forward to better speak with the man as the crowd continued to jeer and jest loudly with one another.

“You sure you don't want me going? Just tell me the address-”

“Nah-” he muttered, meeting his friend's gaze, “-I got this.”

Jared squeezed the man’s shoulder, nodding as he smirked, “For Robert.”

“Beck, and Logan too...” the man added, they both had a moment as their eyes met, their souls pulsing before Jared released his hand and allowed Jake to pass towards the back door disguised as a metal panel, blending with the wall.

Even if his Brother was not here, he could share in this victory with him after the city was purged of such a horrific, dangerous creature. He would surely thank and understand him then.

***

You flinched, the tugging at your temple being a very strange sensation as you sat on the edge of the bed, the scientist standing before you as he plucked out your stitches. The hot cup of coffee between your palms was soothing, helping you relax as you kept your eyes closed and allowed Gaster to work.

“Does this mean I get to go home...?” you murmured.

“Mnnph...” he mused, his eyes flicking over his work before he responded, “tonight.”

A sigh of relief left your lungs. The Lich had seemed much calmer this morning, he had stayed with you through the night and while the fit on such a small bed was awkward it felt... nice, to relax and heal while he watched over you. This morning you had showered, putting on your clothes from yesterday and came back out to see fresh sheets on the bed while the scientist was still in his casual attire, a mug of coffee in his hand. You knew why, and it still bothered you that he was being so stubborn about this vicious grudge.

Yet, despite these feelings of discomfort, you complied with him and sat on the edge of the bed so he could assess your healing wounds. He found your progress impressive enough to not stick you with another IV drip which was music to your ears to hear him say, the Lich left you with the task to hold onto his drink for him but didn’t seem to care you took a bit of an interest payment. The hot liquid seeping down your throat, settling the tension having rising in your chest as the scientist parted your damp hair and went to work.

Silence fell between the two of you as you continued to feel gentle tugs at your scalp you spoke up again, distracting yourself from the unpleasant sensation, “we should go to the lake tomorrow...”

“Why is that, my dear?” he uttered, a grin pulling across your lips.

“I think it would be relaxing... don't you think?”

The both of you fell back into subtle silence, the scent of fresh water filling your memories with the bare chest of the Lich at your back. The gentle waves of the lake caressing the shore as a breeze tumbled through the branches and graced your still, stoic forms with lithe affections. That is where you should go, needed to go, in hopes to relax the monster.

His voice finally found him, squinting through the odd memory that grew a warmth in his breast, “If that is what you wish.”

You nodded, your grin spreading, “you can... teach me how to balance, again.”

A gentle hitch in his chest warbled into the air, his odd chuckle making you giggle a bit as you lowered the cup and set it atop of your thighs. A positive energy filling the air between you two as his hands continued to pluck the thread from your skin warily, a soft breath leaving your lips as you continued.

“I'm serious though... I think it would be good, for us both, to get away for a bit..”

He picked up on your hint but didn't acknowledge it, there was still work to do before he would rest though he planned on ending it today. With each day that passed, the farther his prey became and while his soul had been eased by your company he had not forgotten the reason he was attending to these threads in your scalp. The injury would leave a small scar through your hair, it would be easy to hide, but it would mark you for life. The thought infuriated him.

Noticing how he didn't reply you went on, trying to get him engaged, “why don't you live on the surface, G?”

“There is no need.”

Gently snorting you ran your fingertips over the smooth, warm ceramic as you murmured, “I know you are comfortable in the underground...” you began, flinching at a rather deep tug, “-and things are rather expensive up here-”

“Money is of no issue,” he replied, causing a pull at the corner of your lips.

“My flat is like... nearly thirteen hundred a month…”

“Is that a lot for you, my dear?”

You couldn't help but to scrunch your eyebrows, peaking from your eyelids to glance down into your cup of coffee, “well... I mean, on average people barely make nine dollars an hour-”

“Hmnn…” he breathed, an odd, light thrumming pulsed through his ribcage, almost in amusement.

“What...?” your expression grew deeper as he finished his work, lightly chuckling.

“You will not have to worry about currency, while with me, darling,” he spoke softly.

You scoffed, glancing up as he carefully combed your hair back into place with his claws, blanketing the light pink tissue of the forming scar, “what, you a millionaire or something, hot shot?”

“Don't worry about my assets,” he mused, his white eyes flicking into yours as you sat up straight with his fingers pushing your damp locks over your ear, “I feel it is best we relocate you to... suitable living conditions, perhaps in a few weeks.”

You raised an eyebrow, opening your mouth but a squeak from the door grabbed your attention as you looked over your shoulder and found Jenny flinging the door open, her face lighting up on the both of you.

“My wife!” she exclaimed, you just smiled brightly as the scientist looked past her and found the detective and some other human stepping into the room. His pupils dilated as his gaze recognized the boy, his light blue soul quivering in his chest as he stared wide eyed up at the Lich.

Jenny hurled herself over to you, flying up beside you onto the bed to pull you into a side embrace, you both broke into a fit of laughter as you squirmed and tried to keep from spilling your coffee. The tightness of your reunion brought tears to your eyes, your soul throbbing and tugged at the scientist as he slowly panned his gaze away from the boy to the both of you before him, his claws hanging in the air uselessly as he snorted.

The woman turned her head up and glared at the scientist, “don't huff at me-! I want to see her too!”

“Jenny-” you wheezed, her grip having coiled around your chest, “-he's not done looking at me.”

“Oh,” she giggled, pulling away to let you breathe in peace yet she just folded her legs up on the mattress and scooted back as he lowered his hands towards the bandage on your neck. You tilted your head to the side to give him easier access as he pulled the sticky, damp cloth away while Dennis just stood, in utter shock.

The monster recognized him immediately, it stopped him right in his tracks while the white, piercing gaze of the scientist drove into his very being. The memories of the dark room, of glinting metal, made the teen shudder. Yet, the casually dressed doctor wasn’t looking at him anymore, it drew the boy’s bottom lip between his teeth as he watched the creature remove the dressings and bared a purplish, disgusting bruise to the room with a puncture wound smack dab in the middle of the black markings courting the curve of her neck.

You tried to ignore the cool sensation on your sore neck as Jenny drew in a breath, pulling her hand up to her face as the Lich ignored her and carefully studied the healing flesh. The pads of his knuckled fingers caressing the edges of the wound, making you flinch as your friend was left speechless. An awkward silence fell in the room, trying to not let embarrassment rise in your face as you just focused on breathing, your eyes closing once more while a familiar voice pipped up from across the room.

“It is good to see you doing better,” Carl stated, his gaze lingering over the wound as the Lich pulled his hand away to begin cleaning the puncture. Your brows furrowed, trying to not become annoyed as you didn’t have a very good relationship with the detective, despite his sentiments.

Mr. Briggs turned his gaze to his side, clearing his throat to gather Dennis’ attention and he did. With the teens eyes locked on him he spoke up, looking back to the scientist who ignored them all, falling into his work.

“This is Doctor WD Gaster, I'm sure you recognize him-”

You found your brows furrowing, opening your eyes to try to look towards the door as you heard the detective speak but the Lich gently grabbed your chin and turned your head back in the other direction as he murmured, “be still.”

His odd speech warbled through the air, making the boy jump and take a step back which caught the discerning eye of the man as he raised an eyebrow and went on, his gaze following the boy as Dennis stared at the towering Lich attending to your neck with his free hand.

Deciding to not address the boy’s obvious fear the man carefully pressed, “-Jenny told me you had something to share with all of us...?”

You stubbornly tried to look at the door again but Gaster just held your face to the side as you sighed in irritation, your voice pressing from your lips as you muttered, “wait, what is going on-?”

Jenny lightly gasped, “Oh-!” flinging her hand out onto your knee as she filled you in, “I brought Dennis along-” you felt your heart pang, flicking your gaze up to the Lich but he seemed bored as he was distracted with your neck, “-he knows something about Jake, he wanted to tell us about it.”

“I..” the boy stammered, his eyes locked onto the Lich as he slowly lifted his chin and turned his attention to the boy, his sockets beginning to narrow. Dennis flinched under the scientist’s hard gaze as Carl looked back towards the teen, expectantly.

Finding the teenager spellbound Carl followed his line of sight back towards the Lich who was fixating on him, the detective watched as the Lich's pupils grew in size to only begin constricting. He knew that look all too well, the man brought his hand up on the boy’s shoulder, startling him, but he kept his grip firm, reassuring as he spoke to the teen, “perhaps it would be best to speak privately first, yeah?”

Dennis drew his bottom lip between his teeth as the Lich stared him down, Jenny glancing up and huffed rather loudly as she folded her arms and glared up at him but he simply ignored her as you murmured, “we'll be right here, when you're ready, Dennis.”

Hearing his name from your lips drew his gaze down towards the two women, only catching the back of Jenny as she blocked the view of the Lich's gentle grasp on your face with the wound on your neck exposed in the middle of the black bite marks across your shoulder.

The teenager gently nodded, stepping backward as Carl turned and led him through the broken doorway. Nervously, the boy turned his gaze back into the pristine facility, feeling eyes at the back of his head as he shuffled into the hall and jolted at seeing a monster leaning against the wall by the door.

Sans casually passed a nod to the detective as he walked by, the boy being caught by his white, similar pupils as they walked by him towards the back of the wing. The skeleton didn’t have the patience, nor the ability, to pretend this morning and found it best to just keep an eye on the Lich from afar. His bitterness having soaked his bones all of last night, evident by how droopy his sockets were.

Carl kept his hand on the boy’s shoulder for a few more steps before letting it slide off as he began to speak, his gruff voice fading and being replaced with yours as you sighed from inside the room.

“You stared at him, didn't you, G?”

***

Jake pressed inside of the flat, this entire floor seemed desolate, his fingertips grazing over the gouges wrought into the edges of the wood. He found it odd that the door was never locked.

Snorting he threw the door behind him, the latch clicking shut as he peered around and found it more or less the same as it was a few days back.

“Now... where to leave a note...” the man exhaled through his nose as he stepped inside, turning his gaze down the hall to spot the bedroom door open.

Her room would probably be the best place.

Quickly he made his way down the small corridor and pressed his way inside of the room, glancing around his gaze ended up on a gray cat lounging on the bed. Its tail swaying beside it as the animal peered up at him through drowsy eyelids.

“Mnph, surprised you haven't been eaten yet,” he murmured, stepping to the foot of the bed and gently brought his hand forward, “you sure you're comfortable here, guy?”

As the man’s fingers extended to the soft creature the feline pulled its ears back, its eyes locking onto the hand and right as Jake stroked the side of the animal’s shoulder the cat yowled and lurched onto its back. Gasping the man held still as the animal grabbed his wrist, digging its teeth into the side of his hand with a vicious, thrumming snarl as its back feet tore at his forearm with impressive kicking.

Jake narrowed his eyes as the feline kept its grip, breaking the skin. He sucked in a breath as he reached out with his free hand to the animal but it noticed, releasing him the beast clawed across the bed and darted off the edge to fully wedge itself beneath the low frame.

“Fucking prick,” he spat, drawing his hand up to his face as soft crimson beads slipped down his forearm and wrist from both scratches and the deep bite left in the side of his hand. His skin stung, drawing in a hissing breath he quickly turned and rotated his arm to look at the damage as he went back to the kitchen.

“I better not get fucking rabies or some shit-”

Running the faucet, he let his arm rest under the water, wincing as he watched streams of pink swirl down the drain. He found himself staring, losing himself to the rush of cool water over his itching flesh wounds as the water whisked away the pain around the metal wash bin.

In a flash the stainless steel bowl was asphalt, pink rivulets turning into waterfalls of blood and meat with a sickening, deafening crunch.

Flinching he jolted, flicking his gaze up to the faucet and sighed, he was getting distracted. He effectively washed his arm with soap, being sure to clean out the scratches to the best of his ability, cats were always getting into terribly unsanitary things with their claws. He patted his arm dry with a dish rag, shutting the sink off as he tossed the rag back onto the counter but paused, his eye snagging onto the kitchen knives displayed cleanly in the cutlery block.

Jake found himself reaching out for one, drawing the blade with a soft ringing humming in his ears as he stared at the glinting metal held fast in his fist. The only true way to get a violent creatures attention was through violence itself.

Perhaps that animal attacking him was a sign, he mused. Stepping through the hall he made his way back to the girl’s bedroom and leapt up onto the mattress, his shoes soiling her plush comforter as he padded to the headboard placed firmly against the wall. Drawing the blade to his hand he grunted, slicing the side of his palm. The hot, rushing red liquid gushed from his flesh as he drew the hand into a fist and pressed it into the wall.

He scrawled in deep, red letters.

_ 'Flipside of 71' _

Hissing, he smeared the spilled blood on his forearm underneath the uneven lettering, bolding the statement before he leapt off the bed and went to clean himself up once more. The knife clattered into the metal sink as those pink rivers came back to serenade him into a song of squelching, crunching flesh begging for redemption.

***

“You all right, son?” the detective murmured, sitting across from the teenager at a round table in an empty, blissful break room.

The coffee machine gently hummed on the counter across from them as the boy nodded and set his forearms on the table, his eyes glancing down as he struggled to contain his beating heart. Those white eyes... he remembered how they stared so intimately into him while the monster’s fingers coiled around his throat.

“How do you know the Doctor?”

Dennis blinked, swallowing to clear his airway as he glanced up and exhaled. He figured the detective would catch onto his behavior, it wasn't like he was hiding it very well to begin with... He thought he had been ready, had been prepared to see the beast again. But it seems as if he had been wrong, the thing was enormous, clever and it had bled the rallied courage straight out of him. He may not be able to tell his tale to that room… but he could say it to the man across from him, patiently waiting for the boy to find his voice.

The words clambered from the boy's tongue, pouring across the table as he explained how his brother became obsessed after the disappearance of a coworker. This obsession turned into bitter resentment, paranoia. Dennis explained how he was coerced to just take a few pictures, just so his elder brother could analyze them... see if the rumors were true about the scientist biting the girl but things went south. The girl could use magic, the rumors were true, but he didn't escape unpunished.

“He grabbed you…?” Carl asked, leaning across the table as his eyes scoured the boys retreating expression.

“Y-yeah...” he muttered, glancing over the room, he had thought that the detective would want to hear more about the girl’s ability to use magic but it seems as if he already knew.      

“Did he hurt you?”

He boy found his breath stuck in his throat, his tongue felt dry as he remembered laying in the exam room. His soul floating from his chest as glinting, cold metal drew nearer and nearer still.

“No,” he breathed, hoping his lie was convincing. He wasn’t here to try to cause grief with the monster. The memories faded as he focused back onto the man before him, “but my brother, his friends... they are planning something really terrible-”

The detective's eyebrow shot upwards, not believing the scientist let him off the hook unharmed but the boy continued as he stretched over the table and clasped his hands together.

“-I, I didn't know what they were doing- I swear-!” the boy bit into his lip as the man slowly nodded, encouraging him to continue as he breathed, “-they bought a warehouse-”

Carl's eyebrow slowly drifted back down, his gaze hardening as Dennis continued, “-I don't know where, I don't know for how much, I don't know who actually owns the property- but they aren't going to stop, you have to find them-!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” the man sighed, leaning back in his chair as the boy's eyes widened, desperate to bleed this information, “we have been looking for days, we ran out of leads and the trail goes cold-”

“They came to our house yesterday-” he blurted, “-they were talking about somebody having gotten killed, someone got beaten up- I couldn't, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left... I- I'm not sure where they are, but they have to be at the warehouse!”

“You just said you didn't know where the warehouse is located-”

“I- I know, but you have to trust me- they're there!”

“Dennis,” the man breathed, drawing a hand over his face as he sighed, “do you know how many warehouses there are in the city? We need an address, we need a section number,  _ anything _ , otherwise we could be combing for days.”

“But, they're so stupid-” he squeaked, “they leave clues all over the place-!”

“If they did, I would have known about it,” Carl snorted, his hand falling back down to the table as his gaze focused in on the exasperated teen, “we searched Jake's apartment and found zilch, Logan's home was also nothing special and it's hard enough keeping that man secure in a hospital before we send him to court on suspect of being involved-”

“He _ is _ involved-” the boy drawled, the detective waved him off.

“We don't have proof- or a confession.”

Dennis felt his heart sink as the man straightened up in his seat, pulling a small notebook from his pocket and flipped it open, setting the pad on the table top as he drew the pen from the spiral clasping and huffed.

“Now, repeat everything you just told me, I have a feeling we are missing a few key details here.”

The boy swallowed, he was used to being patient… but something inside of him was beginning to yell, an itching at the back of his mind prompting him to desperately think of the warehouse, of any clues he could give Officer Briggs, but none came forth as he went through his tale once more.

***

Jenny scrunched up her face as she saw the Lich carefully studying the puncture on your neck, “Jesus, does that still hurt?”

You smirked, trying to suppress a chuckle as the scientist's careful fingertips brushed over the wound, “not really anymore...”

“But it's still so bruised!”

You tried to not look, you never were good with injuries and couldn't stand the sight of them, it made you nauseous.

“Yeah, I mean it's sore... but I'll be fine.”

“They had knives-?!”

“No, it was a needle…” you murmured, holding yourself as still as possible you waved your hand over to the other side of the bed behind you, the bent and bloodied needle still lying beside your cellphone on the nightstand, “it's over there if you're curious.”

Your friend followed your hand motions, growing cold as her eyes fixated on the blood stains having been smeared along the syringe and coated the metal hub.

“W-why... why would they  _ do _ that...?” she faltered, a lump growing in her throat.

The scientist tried to not roll his eyes as he had floating apparitions prepare some cotton pads with disinfectant, the wound was still deep. It was a good thing your soul was so invigorated otherwise this would hurt a lot more than it was.

“They put some kind of magic blocking thing in it so G couldn't find where I was,” you spoke carefully, flinching as you felt the cold solution spread over your sensitive skin.

“But... but he did find you-” she blinked, feeling frustrated, confused, she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Luckily I wasn't too far away… and he's got  _ a lot _ of magic-”

“Is that why all those people had their… their souls... called?” she asked, biting on her bottom lip as she watched the Lich treat your neck wound with salves. Gaster remained silent.

“He was trying to find me,” you muttered, suppressing the urge to shrug, “he did, and now I'm healing and everything will be okay. They'll all get arrested and we can go back to how things were.”

Jenny's expression softened, her gaze flicking up to your face as you kept your eyes closed but your solemn features sent a gentle throb through her kind hearted soul.

“Yeah... Hey, yeah, don't you worry about it Sunshine,” the woman grinned, your eyes cracking open to glance over at her as the scientist pulled his hand back to take a new bandage from an apparition, his stoic expression making him seem like a drone as he kept to his work, “Dennis probably knows more information, they'll find them-”

“I will find them,” the Lich uttered, finishing applying the new bandage as you sighed with exasperation.

“G-” your words were cut as the monster cupped your chin, drawing your focus up to him as he stood straight, his shoulders back.

“-then, things will go back to normal,” his sockets slowly narrowed, seriousness coating his voice as he added, “do not leave the facility until I permit it.”        

Your lips drew into a hard line as you stared back at him, snorting as he removed his hand and murmured, “I will fetch a few things for you, it will make your stay... bearable.”

A deep sigh left your lungs as you drew your legs back up onto the bed and moved backwards to sit more comfortably as you murmured, “all right...”

At least he had listened and understood you really didn't like being here. While he vanished you turned towards your friend who was wide eyed and blinking at you, expecting a translation but your eyes caught onto something blue in the doorway. When your eyes shot over to it, nothing was there. You scrunched your brow, scouring the hall but only heard the heavy footsteps of the detective speaking in murmurs to possibly Dennis.

You turned your attention back to Jenny, softening your gaze as she smiled at you with tears in her eyes but you quickly cut in, “-please don't tell me you're sorry Jen, I've had enough emotions to last me the week.”

The woman nodded, beginning to giggle and drew her hand up to wipe at her eyes just as the detective and Dennis stepped back in. The men drew your attention though your focus landed on Dennis who was carefully, tentatively, feeling forward across the floor with his toes as he glanced around.

“It's okay...” you spoke gently, drawing his attention as Carl stepped forward to the bed, “G just went to get a few things, he'll be back.”

“I suppose that’s why Sans left…” Carl murmured, leading the teen further into the room as you scrunched your brow.

“Sans was here…?”

Why hadn’t he said anything…? An uncomfortable gnawing took hold in your gut, was he usually standing outside in the hall like that…?

Eugh, that didn’t settle well in your stomach.

          ***

The two undead monsters stood motionless in the flat, the skeleton had found his plan of unsuspectingly following the scientist to be dumped straight out the window with the horrid stench assaulting his senses.

“Blood,” the Lich sneered, his claws twitching in the air as he took a few strides towards the hallway. The translation was lost on the skeleton but he had a good idea of what he was saying, the stench was clear... fresh, even.

Stunned, Sans' eyes trailed to the kitchen while the Lich suddenly lunged forward down the hall, a snarl tearing through his throat. The outburst brought the monster’s focus back down the hallway, quickly padding on after the scientist as he drew his hands from his blue hoodie, his digits balled into a fist. Gaster came to a halt in the doorway, he stood hunched, shaking with unbridled rage that permeated through the flat and drove a blunt end straight into the skeleton's soul.

Wincing, Sans stumbled forward as he pushed past the Lich and spat, “it's a bit fucking early in the day to be doing this- isn't it-?!”

The skeleton drew his gaze up and stopped dead in his tracks, slowly straightening his spine as his dark sockets focused on the crimson brush strokes staining the wall.

_ 'Flipside of 71' _

“what... the... fuck...” the skeleton’s arms went slack at his sides, the monster beside him truly beginning to seeth as his magic pressed into the entire floor. Lights flickered, the furniture hummed with immense pressure while his eyes shrunk into pinpoints. The voice that emanated from the Lich was dark, nearly unidentifiable as an echoing warble took hold within his core, “what does this mean?”

Sans slowly shook his head, the magic having radiated into this small space was strong enough to roughly understand the scientist. The skeleton’s bitterness, his own frustration, was whisked away as he stared at the painted strokes across the wall. Whose blood... was...? A harsh pang rang out in his chest as he stumbled forward and fell onto his hands and knees to peer under the bed, this hard, jerking motion drew the Lich's gaze momentarily before he snapped his vision away and strode forward to the wall, rounding the bed.

The skeleton sighed in relief as he found Chip blinking back at him, far beneath the bed, tucked by the back wall, “it's not from the cat...”

“It's Human...” the Lich muttered, his breath hot and oily, steam billowing from his jaws as his padded digits reached out, smearing across the hard surface to find the blood having dried. This was done earlier in the day, hours, at most.

Sans picked himself off of the floor, the disturbing amount of magic thrumming from the Lich made his bones creak as he drew his dark sockets up to the wall to find the scientist drawing his fingers towards his gaping mouth. The skeleton flinched as the monster ran his black, slick tongue across his fingertips, which caused a quivering, thunderous energy to beat into his very marrow.

The skeleton cringed, his sockets shutting tightly while the room began to spin, he nearly caught himself on the edge of the bed as he heard a deep, vicious,  _ “Jake Evans..” _

“th-that's impossible..” Sans spat, pulling a hand up to his sweating skull, his fingertips digging into the porcelain bone, “h-how-”

The scientist rolled his shoulders in their sockets, his spine twisting and jutting from beneath his thin jacket while he spun around. The open edges of his zip up gently beat the air as he strode forward and rushed from the room out into the hall, though this pressure did not abate. The skeleton struggled against the suffocating energy, his vision blurring and twisting as he forced himself to stand and stumbled into the hall, panting.

Gaster flung himself into the kitchen, gazing down into the sink and focused in on the used blade having been tossed unceremoniously into the metal tub.

The message was for him, that was for certain.

He began to slowly hunch over, his fingers falling to grip onto the edge of the sink as he bowed his head and breathed. The cold air meeting his wicked throat, steam forming in his mouth from the humidity in the air instantly evaporating. He could taste the fresh water having been poured here, stained with copper blood of that man... the man that he could have killed mere days ago, in this very room.

Anger was not a word to describe the unadulterated loathing coursing through the monster's veins as Sans stumbled to the kitchen, grunting as he caught himself on the island counter and squinted through his discomfort to the Lich's contorted, bent back.

“doc..” he strained, “you gotta relax...”

The Lich began to pant, black spittle pooled against his canines, beading outward over his bottom jaw to patter down into the stainless steel sink below. He could not hear the skeleton behind him, his mind was flashing with memory of the amber eyes from this human. The human with enough audacity to return here, to mark this place so cynically...

_ ‘Flipside of 71’ _

“What. Does. It. MEAN?!” he bellowed, his claws carving trenches into the stone beneath his hands, his muscles twisting and pulling in his body as the skeleton's head began to swim.

Barely able to hold himself up against the counter Sans wheezed, “f-fuck-!”

He could barely think, the pounding pressure digging against his bones was painful. The ringing in his skull would not alleviate. The monster could only keep himself standing with the help of the counter beneath his elbows as his fingers dug into his skull. There was too much energy, too much violence, he couldn't breathe.

Reality twisted around the Lich as he heaved, gobs of black drool pouring into the sink as he realized it didn't matter what it meant... he would destroy them. He would tear the entire city apart,  _ brick by brick _ . Starting with the first place he could think of, the abandoned industrial site. With a static filled, unnatural groan the monster vanished.

Sans gasped for air, wheezing and panting as beads of sweat trailed over his quivering bones. It was as if he had been drowning to only, finally, burst through the water and gulped down fresh air

All was silent as the monster panted, trying to get a grip.

It took a few minutes for the skeleton to be able to breathe again and with all of his will power he pressed himself away from the counter, squinting and blinking rapidly as he gazed towards the sink and found the Lich gone. Shit.

He would have to be fast.

The skeleton stumbled as he groped inside of his pocket for his cellphone, trudging back down the hall just as the device spun and clattered in his bony digits. Taking a few pictures the skeleton then began to snoop through the flat, scouring for anything ordinary, for any more clues but all he found was the medicine cabinet pilfered of bandages with hydrogen peroxide still sat out on the counter.

“th-this is so  _ fucked _ ,” he murmured, shutting the open cabinet with his fingertips as he gathered his disheveled magic, hoping the detective was still in the facility, he couldn't teleport to the King who was twice the distance away.

It would have to be enough.

***

A hard tremor shook the warehouse, the chains above and around them began to quiver, jangling softly as stillness took hold of the room. Quietly, nervously, the men in the rafters panned their gazes towards one another as they shifted on the rusted hooks to look between themselves, one of them being Jared. The clean, glinting metal hooks cocooning them gleamed with sharp refractions of light as they clung to their weapons, Beck hadn’t lived long enough to give them much else besides darts and only a few shots for the hunting rifle situated in Jared’s strong, angry, hands. He’d have to make these shots count...

Jared stood at attention, balancing on the hook with his back to the arm of the rusted metal while gripping his rifle in his hands. Jake and Mike, with his broken hook leaning against the wall, stood just behind him in the office, turning their gazes outward to the floor as this eerie, wafting pressure drove inside of the building. The few men on the ground floor carefully pressed themselves behind stacked crates, leaning out to keep their eyes on the sliding door as a dark, warbling hiss shuddered the metal entrance.

Slowly, Jake extended his hand to the camera at his side, clicking the device on. The blissful machine observed the floor calmly, the screen recording as normal but as time drew on flickers of static, of grainy fizzling, caught the teenager’s attention from behind his shaggy, long hair. Mike felt his heart beginning to pick up, his eyes studying the screen... he must have been seeing things...

Another crack of static.

The teenager found his bottom lip being drawn between his teeth, biting down on the supple, cracked flesh as his eyes studied the small, rectangular screen as it fell still, normal, once more.

A few tense, cold, seconds drew by.

They heard nothing. Mike exhaled slowly, drawing his gaze up to Jake as he stared down towards the sliding door, a bead of sweat trickling down from his temple to his neck.

Suddenly, a hard, loud BANG reverberated through the warehouse before another, and another. Beams of light filtered through the sliding door as skeletal hands punctured through the material, gripping vehemently to the door before the entire segment began to shake. The violent clattering stirred the room as they all watched this display, dread filling their souls as the metal gave way, flying to the far side with the large, hooded, silhouette of the Lich standing in the entry way.

His bright, piercing white eyes illuminated his cracked face from beneath his drawn hood. Jaws open, black, fizzing spittle trailing from his jawline in stringy, acidic strands that pattered to the parched ground. The sound that drew from this creature was unholy, a groan of the dead filling the room as the monster took dominant, forceful steps into the warehouse as a fleet of floating, summoned skeletal hands drew in from the sides of the entrance. Encompassing him in defensive and offensive tactical coverage as his heavy, rhythmic footsteps graced the room.

The soft flutter of black moths went unnoticed, their wings shimmering against the chains woven in the support beams of the ceiling as the Lich drew his gaze upwards to the scene before him. Soaking in the apparent trap his mouth pulled at the corners, tumultuous cruelty brimmed within his soul as he spoke, commanding the rooms attention as he wove, “you will all perish, here.”

The hissing, crackling tone of the monster carved sneers onto most of the assembly's expression, though some were visibly shaken, unable to take their fearful, wide eyed expressions from the monster and his conjured apparitions. Especially the men on the ground floor, right at his level, who shook in their boots as they clutched to their dart guns.

Jake snarled as he thrust himself to the window, his hands balled into fists as he yawped, “shut up-!”

Slowly, the Lich drew his gaze upwards, wild and wicked as he began to chuckle. Loud, hitching gasps and wheezing pulled from his lungs as he panted between bursts of air, “I will feel you-”

The man's expression began to falter, his scowl turning into a frown as Jared began to raise his rifle yet the monster kept his focus on Jake as he continued to chant, “-inside and out, as I grind you to wet, ribbons...”

Jake tentatively took a step back, finding himself falling into the piercing gaze of the monster below as static tickled along the Lich's face. The cocking of the rifle in Jared's hands did not falter his flowing words, the bait crew above in the rafters transfixed on the powerful deity beneath them. They hadn’t been prepared to hear him speak, let alone feel his words worm their sick tendrils through their bodies, soaking them in discomfort as his accent echoed oddly in the building, the windows shivering in their frames.

“-such a delicate fillet…” Gaster commented, his chin turning to the side as he eyed the man up in the office, “you will die, begging for sweet release-  _ Jake.. Evans.. _ ”

Jared snarled from his position on his hook, aiming down the barrel towards the monster as it flicked its white pinpricks over towards him, the Lich's oily tongue sweeping across his fangs as the older man barked, “the only one who will die is you-!”

The man had no chance to continue talking as the monster suddenly was upon him, his feet firmly slamming onto the rusted metal while his large, contorted form towered above him. The hook swung heavily, gunshots ripping through the warehouse only to miss the monster as Jared cried out. The rifle in his hands went off with a shuddering bang, a panic drawing across the crowd above and below as members abandoned their stations while the Lich backhanded the side of the barrel. The gun went tumbling through the air, soaring over the catwalk to clang into the railing, spinning across the metal sheet suspended above the floor beside them.

Mike and Jake could not move, frozen in place, as they witnessed Jared being caught up in the clawed, merciless grasp of the monster as he pulled the human towards him. The skeletal hands below groping, catching and clawing at those who attempted to flee. Although, a few figures managed to stumble from the warehouse while others began to cry like wounded animals below, their voices being smothered with the cracking of bone, the moist giving of flesh.

Jake watched in unbridled horror as his friend attempted to scream yet the monster merely gazed at him with passion, his eyelids drooping as he thrust his face forward and in one swift motion the monster's tongue was down the man’s throat. The Lich balanced well on the hook as they were swung back in the other direction, seemingly unaffected by the pull of gravity as the human in his claws twisted and cried out so sweetly into his throat.

The Lich began to laugh, dark and warbling as the human in his grasp thrashed, his eyes rolling back into his skull as scalding, tar-like, acidic spit was churned down along his windpipe with thrusting motions of the monster’s tongue. Blisters, steam and the sharp crackling of burning flesh filled the air and the room. The scientist's claws drove into the man’s biceps, tearing into the meat of his muscle as the human screeched in sweltering, unnatural pain.

The sound, the overall display, startled the room, snapping a man out of his shock as he sharply whistled and took aim from his position on a rusted hook just diagonally across the room, near the entrance suspended a good thirty feet from the ground. The gun in his hands kicking back against his palms as he fired directly at the spine of the monster molesting the older man, the chain holding the hook up beneath the Lich groaned, squeaking as the hook swung forth once more.

A few, worthless patters of shattering darts peppered the monster's sharp back as he pulled his groping tendril back from the human’s shuddering throat. Swiping his blood stained, hole punched tongue across his own white jawline in a deep, grooming lick the man in his hands convulsed, sputtered and bled profusely from his mouth. How quaint, the human couldn't even look at the monster, too inspired by the glinting ornaments above as the unbearable pain pumped shock through the male's arteries.

The Lich dug his claws further into the soft flesh of the man in his hands, chaos brewing all around. Those brave enough tried to take shots at him, the useless darts shattering against the monster’s thick hide, while those unlucky enough were rendered to broken corpses across the concrete.

Growing bored of the slow, agonizing death of suffocation from the man’s blistered windpipe the Lich embraced gravity, tilting his head back in euphoria as he slid backwards from the hook and pulled the man with him. Tumbling to the concrete below, the monster’s dark, warbling laughter shook the room just before he vanished. Jared was unable to utter anything, the world spinning around him before a sickening crunch rang out through the warehouse, the remaining, shuddering soul inside being piled onto with black, twisting magic as the corpse of the man lay crushed, face down in the ancient, dusty floor.        

While crimson pooled against the ground gunshots continued to ring out, pairing with the emanating, echoing laughter of the Lich as he flickered in and out of reality. Screams, shouting and the mental breaking of the cowards foolish enough to try bolting from their posts added to the body count. Corpses-to-be spinning from above to land against the hard floor with reverberating cracks, exciting the moths skittering through the large chain links twisting and flowing in the breeze from the monster's rapid, magical teleportations that no one was able to predict.

The hooks spun and clinked blissfully, wind chimes in a symphony of utter madness.

***

Sans stumbled as he hit the room, Jenny gasped while you just lifted a brow from your seated position on the bed, “where’s G?”

The skeleton pulled his gaze up, his grin strained with beads of sweat trickling down his skull, “where’s the detective-?”

“No, no-” you pressed, slipping off of the bed as Jenny watched, blinking wildly, “what’s going on?”

Sans ignored you, turning his gaze out to the hallway before rushing forward, his loose jacket whipping against his bones as you barked after him, “Sans-!? You dick, come back here!”

Your friend grabbed your arm as you tried to rush after him, snarling as you watched the flash of blue duck out into the hallway and pattered down the corridor with Jenny’s voice filling the room, “girlie, you can’t over exert yourself-”

          “Something’s wrong, Jen-” you tried, pulling at your arm but she just glowered at you and kept hold of your limb, “if Sans lost G just from my flat, something is very,  _ very  _ wrong!”

“Well, let detective Briggs handle it-”

With a snarl you twisted out of her grasp, stumbling towards the door but stopped dead in your tracks as you found Dennis curiously stepping into the room with Carl right at his back. You could feel the soft tremors of magic fluctuating through the air in irritation as you stepped back, slipping to the other side of the bed, the nightstand behind you, as the detective turned his gaze to Sans while speaking.

“I feel it’s best if we all talk about this, I can’t keep running around getting different stories from everyone all the time.”

“you don’t understand,” the skeleton snarled, shoving his cellphone out at the man who gingerly took the device and brought it up to his face. His eyed widened, going rigid as the rest of you studied the man anxiously.

_ “What’s going on?” _ you begged, your hands balling into fists.

The man slowly lowered the device, turning the screen towards the teenager at his side who flicked his gaze across the screen and immediately froze up, which only infuriated you as you took a step forward and shouted,  _ “where’s G!?” _

Sans quickly held up a hand, making you shut your mouth as he gave you an odd look. His mouth seemed pained yet his brows were drawing into a hard narrow as Dennis cleared his throat, shaking his head, “I.. I don’t know what that means...”

“What, what means?” Jenny asked, the boy took the device from the man and nervously stepped up to the bed, turning his shoulder towards the woman as he showed her the screen. You panned your gaze over, squinting at the image as your friend gasped, flinging a hand over her mouth.

“I-is that…” she turned to look over her shoulder at you as you leapt up to the bed and careened over the shoulder of the woman to get a better look at the image, your heart dropping into your gut as Jenny finished, “your room...?”

Scrambling to snatch the device you held it up to your face as Sans sighed heavily, your eyes taking in the bloody, smeared,  _ ‘flipside of 71’ _ .

Your hands were trembling, focused in on the image before you as Dennis spoke, his eyes wide, “i-it must be the warehouse!”

          “warehouse...?” the skeleton asked, focusing in on the teenager who nodded quickly and continued, gesturing with his hands.

“I.. I was saying to Mr. Carl how my brother and his friends all bought a warehouse somewhere, but I don’t know w-where...”

The detective didn’t seem to mind the casual way in which his name was used, bringing a hand up to stroke along his jawline as he dug deep within his mind, “section 71 is just a business district, there are no warehouses there...”

Jenny quickly threw in as you slowly lowered the device, “but it said flipside-! What’s in the opposite direction?”

Dennis furrowed his brow, the room looking to the detective as Carl muttered, “suburbia... for the next forty miles, but there is a processing facility down the highway-”

“Th-that could be it!” the boy jumped, leaning forward as Sans came towards you and held out his hand. Shakily, you handed it back, locking gazes with the skeleton as you whispered.

“Where did he go…?”

Sans shook his head, his fingers deftly plucking the device from you to look at it again himself, scrunching his brow further.

“I have to call this in and better start heading down there,  _ fuck- _ ” Carl sneered, turning on his heels as he dug for his phone and whisked himself down the hall for the elevators.

Jenny immediately began blurting ideas, volleying them with your group as stress and anxiety gnawed at your stomach, disguising the deep flaring of your markings as your soul’s energy was slowly bled away.


	23. Nothing good comes from vengence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also- sorry for the format change.  
> I upgraded from Open Office and it kept all my indentations in microsoft word and i'm too tired to take those suckers out.
> 
> The lyric credits at the end of the chapter go to Blue October, the song is named 'Been Down'.

    As the minutes ticked on your anxiety on grew, staring at the screen as Jenny now held it in her hands and was glaring at the image, “what the fuck..” she murmured.

    Dennis sighed, shaking his head and ran a hand over his face as he peered down to the device and slowly raised an eyebrow, “wait..”

    Sans flicked his white eyes over to the teen as he gripped onto the device, holding it upside down as his eyes slowly went wide, “flipside.. What if.. What if it means 71, just upside down?”

    Jenny just scrunched her face up further, “that’s stupid as fuck-”

    The skeleton held his breath, slowly panning over to you as you processed this information just as Dennis blurted, “that means.. Warehouse 12.”

Jenny scoffed, waving a hand, “a seven upside down doesn’t look like a two-”

The boy quickly grabbed the phone and flipped it, pointing to the numeral which had a slight curve to the body of the seven. Your eyes widened, “th-that looks like a two to me!”

    Your friend gasped, nodding as her fingers began to tremble, “that’s in the _opposite direction!_ ”

    “How do you know where this place is…?” Sans asked, his voice low as Jenny whipped her head towards him.

    “Our firm dealt with property damage there! Lots of warehouses got broken into, copper stolen, etcetera! It’s just down highway 15, going north!”

    Your heart rang out , “we gotta go Jen- we gotta go _now!_ ”

    Trying to step forward, looking towards the door the skeleton just blocked your way. His expression serious, sockets black as Dennis helped your friend from the bed as she stammered, “w-we can take my car-!”

    The teen nodded, flushing at how the woman held onto his hands, “I can drive- I know where that is too-”

    **“you ain’t goin’ nowhere…”**

You stared at the empty sockets of the skeleton, his magic trembling outward from his soul as you flung your arm out to the side and barked, “get out of the way, Sans! We can’t let him do this- we need to get there and stop all this-!”

    “whatever happens..” the monster growled, Jenny clinging to Dennis as they both stared breathless at the both of you, “i can’t allow you to get hurt again, over these _pricks_.”

    Your eyes went wide, taking a step back as Sans stepped forward, pushing you back until your beltline hit the nightstand and jostled the contents. Your eyes flicking over your shoulder to spot the used needle and your cellphone, clear liquid, a miniscule amount, sloshed inside the syringe.

    “i won’t just stand here and let you get into something you could get fuckin’ hurt from, again.”

    Jenny breathed, her voice shrill, “knock it off, Sans!”

    He sharply turned his shoulders, nearly snarling in her direction as you quickly reached back across the table, gripping onto the used needle before tucking both hands behind your back while the monster sneered, “you shouldn’t be encouragin’ this shit...”

    Your fingers tightened around the syringe, dried chalky blood smearing against your sweaty palm as the skeleton turned to face you again. His shoulders were straight, pulled back with his hands deep in his jacket pockets as he tilted his head to the side and muttered, “we can do this the easy way… or the hard way, dollface.”

    “You sure about that Sans?” you said, your racing as your eyes flicked to his exposed vertebra, the bones in his neck glistening in the white light of the room as he chuckled.

    “lady, i ain’t gonna change my mind-”

    Dennis stammered, his brows narrowing, “j-just back off, dude-!”

    The skeleton slowly shook his head, craning his head back to glare at the teen, his teeth beginning to divot as you rushed forward. Drawing the needle from your back with such a swiftness you hardly had time to process what happened as the bent needle pierced into the side of Sans’ neck, lodging between the bone. The monster gave out a hard, shuddering gasp, his body stumbling instantly as you whirled around him.

   Sans coughed wildly, catching himself on the side of the bed. His bones quivering, rattling audibly while he tried clawing for his neck yet his body would not cooperate, he collapsed onto the floor. The world was spinning around him, you voice sounding far away as you spat over your shoulder, “then sleep on it!”

    Jerking your head up you waved at the others, bolting from the room with your friends on your heels. The skeleton shuddered, gasped and tried to feel upwards towards the cold, ringing metal in his neck yet the room faded from his vision. A final, wheezing shudder took hold of his form as he drifted away to the sounds of your fading footsteps.

 

***

        

Jake stood in the box office, mouth wide open, as he could do nothing but watch as the sounds of clinking metal, desperation and fear churned around him in a ceaseless ocean of chaos.

           The Ghoul was too fast.

           Squelching, wet gurgles blistered from above, the soft dribbles of decadent wine trailed from the rafters, clinging to a clean, swaying hook before the shell shocked man with a teenage boy at his side, shaking.

           It was too agile.

           The monster flickered, weaving in and out of the awaiting hooks as it cackled, black strings of saliva clinging to its manic face as the scientist flung himself through the negative space of a rusted hook. His claws burying into the chest of a young, mortified man as he coughed, breathless while gravity tore at his clothes and welcomed him to the hard floor with a greedy embrace. The Lich followed this prey to the floor, the crushing, snapping of bone giving way to his large hands filled his soul with endless power as the dart gun the human had tried using clattered useless across the ground.

The Lich pressed his weight further into the mushy cavity of the dead boy, red, steaming meat split upwards from his merciless, knuckled digits to spill out onto the floor in the sickening display of utter madness. Gaster brought his hands from the mutilated corpse, his chin tilting backwards with his adam's apple protruding from his strong neck. The monster craned his head all the way back, twisting into an unnatural back bend while balancing on his toes, crouching above the mutilated remains of his prey.

            A stillness fell on the building, the groaning creak of metal trickled through the legs of the multitudes of black moths skittering through the rafters. There were only two left alive, now.

The white eyes of the Lich trained in on Jake, the man drew his arm up and took a few steps back. A soft bandage was wrapped around the man’s hand, drawing the scientist’s eyes into a wicked, vengeful smirk. He would revel in this moment, he would send a message and he would feast on the flesh of fools.

Mike had never felt such pure terror grip through his nerves, tears were already staining his cheeks. He had stood there, frozen, like a coward and now with this creature staring into the box office he found his feet drawing him back towards the wall. The teen jumped as his feet hit against the side of a hard metal object, flicking his gaze down he quickly reached out for the broken hook he had brought up here on sheer chance. Those dart guns were useless; he wouldn’t go out like they did-!

           Gaster let out a hard, heavy pant, flecks of blood and spit peppering the air as he then inhaled, filling his lungs. The monster tensed his legs and leapt backwards, spinning in a half roll into the air before vanishing with a loud laugh tearing through his lungs. Jake knew what was coming, sheer panic taking over as he threw himself back from the window just as the monster flickered into existence, the sheer force from his arrival blew the hanging hooks around him to begin twisting and swaying in excess. The scent of blood, of decay, was dripping off of the Lich as he struck out with his right foot, pressing into the window sill.

           A dark, reverberating guttural growl filled the box office, shaking the aged walls, static hissed and cracked from the poised cameras as the monster followed with his momentum and reached outwards for the man. His bloodied, meat laden hands stretched forward, his claws twitching with malice. A wicked, malevolent smirk drawing his mouth into a manic grin while the pinpricks of his eyes drilled holes through the man cowering before him.

           He would bask in the screams this human would emanate, a sweet serenade to his broken soul, the most sincere kind of repentance for the Sun.

           They were stuck in a moment of time, unable to see the rushing teenager hurling himself into the forward with a long, broken hook in his hands. With a shout the boy spun, driving his full weight into the sideways, double handed swing and just as the Lich glanced over the glistening metal cracked into the side of his face.

           The monster let out a rage filled roar, the blast pushing from his lungs tying in with the knock back of such a brutal blow. It wasn’t just metal that hit him, his magic cracked beneath the strike and shook him to the bone. He was sent back out of the window, his right foot slipping against the uneven, rotten window sill. With a loud crack of wood the trim gave, the scientist jerking his head back towards the room as he witnessed the defiant snarl of the shaggy haired boy just before a piercing, iron hot pain pierced through his back.

           Immediately the Lich's sockets went wide, grasping for his magic but it slipped away. Gravity welcomed him, his large form tumbling down to catch the weight of a heavy chain above, the sound of snapping metal rang out as the monster kicked and clawed at his back from the large, stabbing pain digging deeper into his rib cage with satisfying groaning and snapping of bone.

           Jake and Mike flung themselves to the windowsill, leaning out of it as the Lich was sent towards the ground floor. The chain above extended before snagging on its limit, a wet, squelching sound paired with the unholy scream of the monster, black spit and blood pouring from his jaws as the clean, pristine hook caught his fall and rocked upwards, through the large scar on his chest to glisten in steaming, black sludge. Glistening through the greasy, spitting life essence of the beast.

           Gaster couldn't process what was happening, the jerking, twisting of cold metal tore through his ribs, snapping more of them as he reeled his head backwards and screeched. Blood, spittle and pure, utter pain rode on his wild cries as he struggled, clawing at his own flesh as he was held in suspension just above the floor. The chain above him rattled, groaned and shook with his struggle as the Lich kicked out. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not pull himself through the void. His claws scraped against metal as he fought. A deep, high pitched reverberation tore through his flesh and ripped another wild cry through his constricting wind pipe flooding with oil.

 

***

 

You let out a wicked cry, clutching your chest as you doubled over in the back seat. Your scream had startled Dennis, he jerked the steering wheel without meaning to, the tires of the mazda screeching as he growled and righted the vehicle back into its lane.

“Sun-! Are you okay back there?!” Jenny shouted, nearly leaning over the armrest to crane her head back to you as you panted. Staring wide eyed at the back of her chair, police sirens whirred into life behind the car.

Something was wrong, something was terribly, horrifically wrong.

           _“Oh, shiit,”_ Dennis hissed, peering in the rear view mirror as a police cruiser aligned itself behind the mazda.

           You wheezed through the ebbing, gut wrenching sensation of hot iron piercing your breast, “keep going-”

           “Are you insane-?!” Dennis shook, his fingers gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

           “Sun, we are going to get arrested-!”

           “Go, go faster-!” you gasped, pulling your head up to lock gazes with Jenny, tears brimming in your eyes, “we are going to need backup anyways!”

 

***

 

The officer sighed, glaring into the three figures in the white sedan in front of him as he grabbed his radio, speaking promptly, “I’m going to need back up- headed to section 12, towards the abandoned industrial lot.”

***

 

Detective Briggs froze, his eyes going wide as he listened to the static crackling and fizzling through a nearby call-in, _“mother, fucker!”_

           His fist hit the steering wheel before quickly merging to get on the exit, he’d have to turn around. Grasping for the radio, trying to not drop it, he barked his demands into the airway. Tires screaming against the pavement.

***

 

           Claire gave out a yell as Sans lay, dizzy and disoriented, on the cold tile floor.

           He felt hands on him, flipping him over onto his back with his black sockets staring at the harsh bright white lights above. There was murmuring, shouting and hesitant stammers before a jarring, metallic ringing gave out in his neck. The skeleton gasped, as if he had been submerged in water while his vision came back fully to him. The outline of a fluffy stoat peering over the top of him while yellow claws gently patted the side of his face.

           “S-sans...? Sans, can y-you he-hear me?”

           His voice found him, raspy and panting, “the… the warehouse…”

           “W-what?” Claire asked, carefully easing the skeleton into a seated position as he winced and grasped for his neck.

           “have to get to… the warehouse…”

           “wh-what warehouse? Wh-what are you talking about?” Alphys stammered, having crouched on the other side of him.

           Rubbing his bony digits around his sore vertebrae he muttered, “that’s where the doc went, the kids went lookin’ fer em… fuckin’, _stabbed me-_ ”

           Glaring at the other side of the room he let his hand drop as he tried to stand, the other women pecking at him like hens, trying to keep him down, trying to get him to talk to them, but he wouldn’t. He had to get onto his feet, he had to gather his magic... he had to beat them there…

           But, it was so far away.

           He didn’t have a choice.

 

***

 

The moths above in the rafters began to disintegrate, a soft fog of dust filtering down through the room as the monster heaved and wheezed, his sockets wide open, pitch black. He was unable to snag the ground with his feet, unable to alleviate the torturous burden of being held in the air by his shattered, stretched and convulsing chest.

           The two men in the box office panted, the sound of metal clanking to the floor as Mike released his hold on the weapon. His arms were still shaking, sore and aching from the blow he delivered as they watched the monster rake his own claws through his clothing, tearing open his flesh. The despicable scene was memorizing, blood, black as ink, drained from the monster’s cavity as he roared, fought with his own body and fell victim to sheer panic. The cameras on either sides of the windows had been fizzling, popping harshly with static though as the time ticked on they slowly came back into focus, capturing the tossing, fitful monster below.

           Through the blistering, overwhelming pain the monster's claws tinged against cold metal once again, bleeding his ferality into blindness. The Lich flung his hands before his breast, gripping onto the protruding, curved metal jutting from his broken chest. His fingers slipped against the obsidian, gooey tar coating the tool as the muscles in his neck strained to pull his head down with a choking, reverberating wheeze. His vision was blurred, slowly coming into focus as he coughed, spitting up globs of black magic as the glinting, barbed metal tip of a hook lay trembling in his field of vision.

_No._

No, he had been so close… how, **_how?!_**

           His hands wrung the cold, sapping metal. Attempting to get a grip on his magic yet it would just slip from him, wincing though the panic, through the unbearable pain, realization dawned on him as he heard Jake shout down at him. His thrashing ebbing as he hung from the ceiling, his toes barely scraping against the ground below as he swayed on the hook.

            “There's no point in struggling, beast!”

 

***

The three of you gave out a yell, Dennis was going too fast to stop properly as the car slid over the dirt road, careening around the fence into the vacant weed infested lot. Sirens, lights and further tracks of wheels came hurling after the mazda as the teen quickly righted the vehicle and scoured the lot. Gasping you pointed over Jenny’s shoulder, barely being able to make out a row of warehouses tucked behind the processing area.

           “Th-there!”

**“I can’t fit the car through there-!”**

           “Then STOP!” you shouted, gripping onto the seat as Jenny let out a scream, bracing herself as the boy snarled and jerked the wheel. Swerving away from the fence, spinning on the parched Earth to kick stones and debris into a heavy cloud swirling around the vehicle.

           You felt sick, dizziness flipping in your stomach but you just shakily unfastened your seat belt, groped at the door handle and threw yourself out into the world. Coughing and waving the dust from your face you heard men, multiple men, shouting at a distance behind you but you ignored them. Scrambling forward against the ground as car doors slammed behind you, the added pair of your friends fresh of your heels. Throwing yourselves into the large, abandoned lot.

 

***

 

Gaster brought his chin up, wheezing, gasping and coughing curdled blood from the far reaches of his lungs as the wet splatters of black sludge ran down his form to build and feed the floor beneath him. The few, mutilated bodies spread around him against the concrete were met with the hellish mixture, it’s acidic nature scalding the offerings of flesh, of corpses.

           “You're _fucked!_ You're outnumbered, out foxed and out of options except to just, finally, die-!”

           The pained expression of the Lich began to turn, the corners of his mouth hiking into his sharp cheekbones as a deep, gurgling chuckle wheezed from deep within his core. He lifted a hand upward, dripping in the steaming, bubbling blood as he tilted himself forward to set his feet on the ground while grasping onto the heavy chains just above him. Pulling at his frame he eased the weight digging upwards into his flesh and panted, with each exhale came a warbling, static filled laugh.

           “I... am… none, of those things...” he snickered.

           The translation was lost on the men, the distant sound of sirens blaring into the warehouse from the light filtering into the building. The background noise was not enough to distract the Lich as he pulled the edge of the hook downward, wincing through a gush of blood rupturing through his chest cavity to spill onto the floor.

           Mike snarled, the young boy too overwhelmed to hold back more tears forming in his eyes as he shouted out of the window, “just shut up and die already for what you did to my brother-!”

           Another hard wheeze passed through the Lich's jaws, speckles of dark liquid peppering the air as he drew in a deep breath, his lungs struggling against the foreign metal buried into his body. The men in the box office flinched as the monster straightened his spine, the room falling eerily silent as the monster parted his jaws, strings of effervescent oil coating his jaws that burst forth from his throat with a searing, wild, screech. The waves of sound pressing forth into the warehouse made the men recoil, covering their ears as they felt a strong pull within their chests, snarling as they refused to give into the monster's call.

           The other souls, drowned in heavy black magic, began to stir.

           The corpses of the fallen wheezed out gentle moans beneath the wrath of the Lich. His call slowly ebbed, hot, musky air trailing away from his jaws as his head rolled to the side and back. A wicked, wretched grin on his pained expression as if in sweet ecstasy as the crumpled piles of flesh began to shift, to move and slowly picked themselves from the ground.

           Jared's empty, cold, fish-like eyes twitched in their sockets as his crushed, broken body found itself moving, drawing upwards from the stained cement until, finally, standing. Shuffling towards the steps of the catwalk the summoned servant let out a disgruntled moan, rivers of blood pouring from the man’s mouth.

Above, in the office, Mike and Jake kept their ears covered, panting with their eyes closed they could barely hear the moans of the walking dead as the teenager lumbered forward, he had to get out of here, he had to get to the rifle on the catwalk. The sick, wet sounds of bodies pulled themselves across the ground, shifting and standing around the monster like sentinels, answering his call. Jared’s corpse had already made good time on clambering the metal stairs, the sounds of heavy foot falls wakened the teenager as he removed his hands from the side of his face to only gasp at what he saw, not believing his eyes as he let out a wild, terrified scream.

 

           “Join... my... legion...” the Lich sputtered, rivers of blood pooling from his mouth as he rolled his head backwards to the opposite shoulder, “eternal.. servitude, is yours.”

           The monster began to laugh maniacally, through the bursting bubbles of rotten tar welling in his frame to pour forth from his vicious wound. He could feel his magic draining, edging away into the abyss as he turned his gaze onto the catwalk at the sounds of a struggle.

           “Oh, my God-! J-jared-?!” Mike cried, hesitantly stepping back as the hunting rifle laid on the metal sky way, trapped between the advancing zombie reaching forward to sink it's blistered, bloody gums into the young boy. Mike felt tears spill down his face as Jake stumbled forward, his feet catching on the discarded, broken hook and sent him tripping, giving to gravity as he slammed into the metal catwalk. The man grunted, wincing in pain as he rolled onto his side, glaring outwards as he witnessed Mike stepped away from the abandoned rifle and yelled at the teenager.

           “Get away from it-!” Jake shouted, his teeth snapping as he cried, “i-it's not Jared- _Th-this thing isn’t a Ghoul-!”_

           A breath caught in the man’s throat as he slowly turned his gaze back through the railing, gasping at the pleasured monster below who met his gaze with a sullen, disturbed expression of bliss.

           “I-it's...”

           The monster tilted his chin upwards, displaying the ravenous hunger gracing his features while bearing its explicit scar trailing up the side of his neck, the dark hood of the monster’s jacket managing to stay up over the top of his head to shadow his sockets from view as Jake cried out, **“A Lich-!”**

 

           Mike cried out, pulling Jake's gaze away from the horror below as he saw the corpse of his old friend jolt towards the teenager who barely managed to jump out of the way, twisting around the grasping arms of the man to make a mad dash for the rifle at the end of the catwalk, passed the stairs which was filling with shambling, shuffling abominations.

           Jake snarled, “f-fuck-!” the groans of the dead filling his senses with that of blood as he pulled himself up and reached back into the office, towards the broken hook that had caused him to trip, that had managed to catch the demon off guard. Gripping onto the cold metal he scrambled up onto his feet, the Lich below chuckling through waves of blood spurting through his chest and back to bathe the ground and his body.

Corpses filled the staircase just beside Jake, the man heaving the metal behind him to give one good swing to one of the zombies, nailing the monstrosity in the side of the head and toppling over the railing. The body hit the ground with a disgusting, wet, crunch yet it continued to move, to shamble and groan as others quickly replaced it. The man’s eyes widened through his tears as he jerked his attention back to the teenager, finding Jared’s vengeful corpse lumbering towards him, rushing upon him. Jake screamed at Mike as he scrambled for the rifle, his hands groping the metal as a new corpse toppled up onto the catwalk from the stairwell, blocking his view.

Jake gasped, shaking his head and stepping backwards as shambling corpses attempted to grab at him and left with no other choice, tears cascading down his face the man swung outward with a war cry, knocking the masses back as they effectively cut him off from Jared and the teen boy who fumbled with the rifle.

He would not die here, _he could not die here._

 

***

An insidious, blood curdling screech pulsed through the air and drove straight through all of the souls on the industrial site. The three of you stumbled, the wind being knocked from your lungs as bright blue, green and yellow shot straight forth from your chests as you ran. Jenny let out a cry, her feet catching on the uneven Earth as she fixated on the emerald green gem before her and toppled to the ground.

Dennis only stumbled, the sound of the woman crying out tore his gaze from his soul and sent him scrambling back to help the girl.

You just kept running, moisture building on your eyelashes as your feet drove all the harder into the dirt. Rushing frantically towards the line of warehouses, spotting the far one with the large metal door open you instantly knew. That was it. Your soul sunk back into your chest as Jenny cried out for you, “Sun- WAIT!”

 

Sans had landed just in time to be hit with a hard, piercing tremor that shook his very soul. Cold metal rang out through his marrow and made him breathless as he stumbled, his hands reaching outward to catch on cold metal. Bright flashing lights blaring into his vision as he snarled and tore his gaze upwards, taking in the cab of a police cruiser and through the cracked window he came face to face with a familiar, sassy officer.

Panting the skeleton growled, “where.. warehouse.. twelve, Miss Lucas?”

The orange glow of the woman’s soul illuminated her face as she gaped at him, raising a shaky hand to point forward and Sans followed it just as he heard the scream of a woman.

“fuck-”

In a flash the skeleton stumbled forward, leaping feet at a time, his magic slipping and catching as he tried to strive forward into the site. His jacket came loose, sweat beading down from his skull as the heavy fabric beat into his bones. Swinging his arms he drove his heels into the dirt to only leap forward, flicking in and out of existence until the powers would not assist him any farther.

His eyes focused onto the clouds of dust, the chaos, swelling just past the processing building.

Shit, he should have used that treadmill more often.

He wouldn’t make it-

No, he had to. His sockets widened, fear gripping him as his sharp canines began to form across his face. He had to make it, he had to get her out of here. _No matter what._

 

***

 

What a delightful mess, the Lich mused, his grip slipping on the chain above him from his slick blood, a wracking cough driving from his lungs to purge further boiling, wrathful oil from deep within his body. He was losing his magic too quickly, commanding too many corpses at once, yet he didn’t bother containing himself. The grinning, gushing maw of the Lich gleamed to the ceiling as he hung, softly swinging on the metal hook coated in magic blocking chemicals. He could out last these men... at least, he could perhaps even blissfully slumber to the sounds of their screams, fading into mutilated gurgles as a brilliant crescendo.

As long as they died, it was worth this.

           Jared’s zombified corpse grabbed onto the back of the boy’s jacket, Mike let out a cry as he struggled and whirled around, breaking off the gasp the man had and in one shift action a loud bang rang out through the warehouse, trickling against the metal buried within the Lich who coughed and wheezed, attempting to keep himself held up from the cutting metal within him. His grin faded as he drew his gaze up towards the teenager, his sockets narrowing as a choking, raspy snarl tore through his throat to only be cut off through the ear splitting shriek emanating from the entrance.

           The sounds of footsteps slid to a halt as the Lich flinched, his sockets widening as he heaved.

           No.

          

           Another gunshot, Mike snarled as he focused in on the battered, mutilated corpse of his friend who was still trying to grab at him, blood splattered across his face as the man grabbed onto the gun and became tangled in a shoving match as the boy was pressed back into the metal railing. The hard, rusted bars dug into his lower back as he tossed, snarled and shoved against the dead trying to grab at him.

The monster let his chin fall to his chest in an attempt to gather himself. Physical pain was one thing, a common thing, yet the reaction his soul gave the to the frantic wail of the woman behind him stunned him to the core.

           **“Leave,”** he commanded, snarling through the effort to keep his grip on the chain above him and the hook protruding from his chest to ease his suffering.

Of course she would have found him, of course she would have disobeyed.

 

           His order fell on deaf ears, tears blurred your vision making you numb to the true scene unfolding before you as Jenny stood shocked with her hands plastered over her mouth to the right and Dennis was frozen in place on your left. Police sirens continued to whir around the industrial site, but they were lost on you. Rushing forth your feet kicked against the ground as you rushed inward, your soul throbbing, sparking and struggling with the sick reality laid before you as you danced around blood stains, slipping on the cracked concrete as you bolted inside the dark building.

 

           He heard your approach, unable to stop you as his breath came in wheezing strains, his magic beginning to leave him. His mind was turning to haze, the blood pooling in his mouth felt chalky, a puff of dust swirling from his jaws as he hacked just as you whirled around him, staring up into his features as he slowly panned his empty eye sockets towards you. The shadow of his hood unable to hide the dark rivers pouring from his mouth, the sharp glinting metal in his chest heaved as he growled, barking at you with a tinge of desperation.

           _“Go- **LEAVE-** ”_ he commanded, his chest shuddering as a coughing fit took hold, his arm dropping from the chain above as the hook kept his body propped up. The chain rattling above from the harsh vibrations trickling along the links.

           His hard words bounced around the building, yet all you heard were deep warbles, unable to understand him as tears dripped down your cheeks. The sounds of shouting echoed behind you as Dennis rushed into the building, screaming up at the rafters above as he made a beeline straight for the metal staircase, littered in limp bodies, “MIKE- JAKE- JARED- STOP!”

You jerked your head upwards, following the chain to the ceiling to find a plethora of meat hooks being hung like ornaments on holiday. You felt beyond sick, bile brimming into your esophagus as you suddenly jolted, the loud bang of a gun pulling your attention back up to the catwalk to see the body of Jared topple over the railing towards the ground and met the sweet concrete with a satisfying crunch.

They were shooting each other?! What was happening!?

You gasped, turning your gaze too late and in the wrong direction as you took in the traumatizing, gut wrenching scene of metal tearing through the Lich’s chest. Taking a step back you turned your gaze to the Lich who was struggling to focus in on you, his mouth moving yet you couldn't understand him. Static, crackling and a dark warble tumbled from his throat congealed in black, toxic sludge.

           _“You must... listen, to me-!”_

 

           Dennis snarled as he leapt up the staircase, landing heavily on his feet while Jake made a final swing towards the last body on the catwalk surging for him by the office. The metal hit hard, thudding against the body of his assailant and sent them toppling over the railing while Mike lifted the rifle towards the woman, his hands shaking.

As Dennis rounded to the top of the catwalk, amidst the barking, odd warbles of the Lich below he saw Mike taking aim and bolted forward. Gritting his teeth he grabbed the railing, using momentum to swing him around the corner and tackled Mike full force. The rifle spun and skipped along the catwalk towards Jake’s panting figure as Mike hissed and spat, tumbling to the ground beneath the other teen, “we almost have it-! _STOP IT YOU FUCK-!”_

           **“You guys are insane!”** Dennis screamed, baring his fangs as he found his fists driving down into the shaggy haired boy's face as the teen clawed at his chest and tried swinging back in vain. Their struggle continued as Jake scrambled forward, plucking the gun from the catwalk as your pained, nearly screaming voice filled the air.

 

           “Why can't I understand you, G-?! Let's get the fuck out of here, just- just teleport-! _Please!_ ”

           Gaster wheezed, rivers of sparkling black flooded down from his jaws to dissipate into a rain of dust. Realization began to come full circle, staring at the hook protruding from his chest you began to wildly shake your head and lunged forward, your hands hovering over the metal as the cocking of a rifle filled the room.

           “I-it’s okay, w-we can get you down-”

           The Lich had no choice but to watch your frantic state, he felt his body waver- crumbling. Jerking his head upwards he found Jake pointing the rifle towards them, a snarl drew on the Lich's maw as he released the slick hook to grab onto your biceps and with a hard twist of his hips he pulled you out of the way as another shot rang out to which the Lich screeched. His sockets were wide, arms shaking as the jostling tore his chest open further, a silver bullet lodging itself within his side, resting in his churning, sandy, guts.

           You gave out a yell, gripping onto the Lich's jacket desperately as the smell of hot oil filled your lungs, staining your nostrils as the fabric at your hands began to tingle, fizzling against your grasp as the monster held you against him, the hook pressing into your shoulder from above as he choked, “close… your eyes...”

           “No-” you began, a tight lump forming in your throat as a convulsing shake took hold of your frame, _“no- no, **No-!** ”_

           “Shh-” he sputtered, bursts of dust wafting from his open jaws, “don’t, be afraid…”

A hard, splitting ring of metal clattered through the warehouse as Dennis sucker punched Mike, his head whipping back into the floor of the catwalk as he sat straddled, hovering with bloody knuckles and wide eyes above the unconscious teenager. Yelling, shouting and chaos filled the area just outside of the warehouse yet within the building the approaching cavalry went unnoticed.

 

Sans was so close, officers rushing on after him a few hundred feet behind, his sockets were wild. The stench of blood, of hot, slick oil was staining his nostrils and making him sick.

            He had lost his slippers in the rush, his bare bones digging clawed trenches through the weeds and rocky soil as he hurled himself forward. Panting, nearly about to collapse he kept going. He was too determined to give in, _he wouldn’t give in._

_‘no- no, No-!’_

You were screaming. With a snarl he drove his feet harder into the Earth. Reaching far within his soul, he pushed himself to the brink. There were no more resets, there was no reason he wouldn’t give his all for once in his life.

 

 

           The Lich felt himself falling apart, the sensation so familiar as he pulled his gaze upward from your shivering form, grabbing the back of your head to keep you pressed to his sopping wet, sticky chest. His eyes trailed outside, through the harsh light of day to meet the approaching, rapid rush of blue, Sans. His magic was weakened as well as he ran at a full sprint, his canines divoted and sockets black with sweat trailing down his skull. Silhouetted against the bright sunlight..

_The Sun.. it was raining there._

           You began to cry, sobbing profusely as Gaster refused to let you look him in the eyes, your vision blocked by the black grease coating his flesh and jacket as you listened to him wheeze, struggling to remain conscious. Even without your golden energy weaving through his soul, he felt a pressure in his sockets, in his chest, as time seemed to move in slow motion. The noises, the chaos of the warehouse fell to the wayside as his thoughts pressed through.

           How long he had waited, to see the Sun. To feel it’s warmth, to be.. free. It gave him a sense of peace, the quivering in his arms made his chest swell with.. _compassion._ Yes, that was it.. pure, positive, _emotion._ What possible force could ever create such an intense pain, such vivid churning in his breast, the one that he was feeling now...?

           _Was this... ?_

           A slow, wavering breath pushed from his lungs as he studied the skeleton flinging himself through the warehouse entrance, blowing past the shocked Jenny as Jake readied the rifle over the railing and focused through his hard trembling down the barrel.

 

_Was this the true reason behind his wrath, behind the instinct that drove him here... Not LV, but…_

           Dennis slowly turned his head, his hard panting giving way to a shout, “JAKE, STOP-!”

 

_… Love?_

           The pained expression of the Lich began to give way to peace, he understood now, finally. His jaw went slack as his grip on you faltered.

His easing muscles sent pure panic through your body, you trembled and shouted his name, yet he couldn't hear you. He was underwater, his insides churning dust that waterfalled through his sharp bones beneath his flesh, pouring out along the metal hook and gave enough of his physical form away to the hard, glistening metal hook so that he landed on his feet. Stumbling, he managed to crouch above you, his arms falling away as the skeleton drew near, flinging his hand outward.

 

           The slight, remaining magic staining your hands seeped through your fingers in fuzzy, tingling static and gave way to a warbled, calm, “I… _love_ you...”

           You heard that, your eyes slowly opening wide as the flesh beneath your hands gave way. Frantically you scrambled, incoherent screams leaving your lungs as you desperately grabbed for something, for anything, “don’t say that- YOU CAN’T SAY THAT-!”

All you were met with was tumbling sand, slipping through your fingers. Like silk.

 

           _“Die, you fucking Demon-!”_ Jake shouted, squeezing the trigger as he focused on the middle of the beast's back.

           Dennis twisted on the balls of his feet, snarling as he rushed forward down the catwalk, his hands clawed across the catwalk as he righted himself into a full on sprint, “NO!”

 

           The scientist released you, his fingers caressing the sides of your arms. He was tearing at the seams, his head hung just as Sans snarled and leapt forward, his bony fingers replacing the gentle, parting kiss of the lich as you clawed through the clouds, wrapping your fingers around the only thing they could find. A pulsing, scalding hot, thrumming that fit just-so against your palm.

           Screaming the Lich's name, tears streamed down your face as a tight grip fell upon your biceps just as a loud gunshot pierced through the warehouse. The metal rung with the heart song of finality, the world around you fell into darkness as the monster let out a heavy breath. The bullet passing straight through his mist-like body as he crumbled, the black slime coating the floor, the hook dissipated as the monster fell to ashes. Sweet bliss blinding his final thoughts, the pain dissolved as the void swallowed him whole.

           Jenny let out a freakish wail, her shoulders shaking as officers ran past her into the warehouse, a pair of hands pulling her from the scene as she was lost to hysterics. The loud sound of falling sand trickled over the metal hook, down onto the concrete, blood stained floor. The sands of the hourglass lingering their final seconds.

           The officers below rushed forward, barking orders as Mike flung himself into Jake, grabbing the hunting rifle and wrangled it from the man's hands, turning the stock around to try hitting the man but he kicked out. Dennis stumbled, the blow to the side of his knee making him cry out as he landed hard on the catwalk, the gun tumbling from his hands to clatter through the railing and rang out against the cement below. Bouncing through trails of crimson red, of particles of shimmering, chalky dust as it came to a scraping halt before a corpse.

           The cold, fish-like eyes of Jared staring into the hot, steaming barrel.

 

            “STOP-! HALT- YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!”

            No, no they should be congratulating him, he killed it- he killed it!

            Jake spun around, ducking into the office and tore off a back panel of metal as footsteps rang out through the catwalk as police stormed the stairwell.

            He revealed a small hole in the wall, leading into the structure of the building and threw himself into the depths, Dennis’ voice crying out into the warehouse along with the pressure of law enforcement, _“COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!”_

 

***

     

      Bright white, cold stillness.

           Shaking, filled with full body tremors you fell backwards into the rigid form at your back. Dizziness and nausea took over as the skeleton kept his quivering, strong arms wrapped around you and stumbled along with you for a moment. You both were covered in twinkling, glittering dust with something hot and biting driving into your palm as you just screamed, and screamed.

           The world around you was too bright, too devoid of oily... black.

           The voices of Claire and Alphys barked by you but you couldn’t understand as you swayed and heaved, trying to hunch over, to let gravity take you yet the hard, cold grip of the skeleton kept you standing as you shuddered.

 

           “Sans-! What happened, what’s going on-!?” the stoat cried over top of your agony, scampering up to his side to help you steady yourself yet Alphys was frozen in place by the machine mounted against the wall.

           “I think she’s... she’s shot…” he coughed as you trembled, continuing to shriek and shudder as you held your fists towards your chest with the clawed hands of the stoat instantly gripping onto you, helping you to the floor as she sat you down and crouched before you.

           The skeleton stumbled back, crashing into the hard, antique desk with a loud grunt as he panted and spilled forth, “fucking asshole… fell into an ambush, on purpose-”

           “I-it wa-was the w-warehouse!?” Alphys gasped, her gaze falling onto your grief, shock ridden features as Claire grabbed the sides of your face and made you look at her as she tried to calm you down with gentle cooing. Dust tickling her hands as you heaved, sobbed and cracked your eyelids open to stare at her large, sparkling black eyes, nearly rocking against the floor as a powerful, pulsating heat beat into your chest through your hand.

           “yeah...” Sans hissed, collapsing down to the floor with his back pressed into the wood as he trained his gaze onto you and Claire through his laborious breathing.

           “Hun- hun, what happened...? Did you get hurt, where does it hurt?” Claire blurted out, your body tight, aching and reeling with nausea as you glanced down to your trembling hands at the hard sensation of pounding in your fist.

            “M-my.. ha-hand,” you heaved, your lips a trembling mess as you slowly released your fingers, bright shards of light piercing up through your fingers into the room as Claire gasped, leaning backwards as the skeleton’s socketed widened, going pitch black.

           “G.. he’s-” you tried, your tongue laden with iron as you stared at your opening hand to reveal the cracked, pulsing soul of the Lich.

           “Oh, my god...” the stoat gasped, her eyes growing wide.

           “W-what do I do-?! WHAT DO I DO?!” you screamed, the skeleton falling limp against the desk as his skull hit the wood behind him.

           The scientist was a boss monster... on top of everything else…? _Shit…_

 

           “Q-quick!” Alphys exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention as she twirled to the machine and began to type vigorously, “w-we can s-suspend him-”

You scrambled to your feet, clutching onto the powerful soul within your hand though Sans just sneered, “no!”

Ignoring him you ran right up next to Alphys as she hesitated, sweat pouring down her face as the skeleton breathed, “if you flush the wrong serum, all of the fallen will die…”

Her claws twitched as she hovered over the panel, your wide eyes training onto her as you begged her, pleaded her, to hurry. The soul within your hand was trembling, shaking, as if wanting to tear itself apart despite your grip on it. Claire was left breathless on the floor, flicking her gaze between Sans and the two of you as he strained.

“i know what you’re thinking, alph- don’t trash your work-”

“I, I have no choice-” she trembled, slamming her hand down onto a final button as the machine whirred angrily, the vats thrumming in a violent energy, “I... I trust in Doctor Gaster-!”

The room watched with wide eyes as the second vat tore itself apart, the concoction being swept into the machine as Alphys turned towards you and quickly stammered, “p-press it i-into the tube-!”

You obeyed, flinging your hand outward to push the heavy, damaged soul through the acrylic and into the vat though you kept your palm pressed firmly to the tube as you heaved. Panting and shuddering from stress, you kept your focus on the quivering soul for it to slowly wind down, floating gently within the machine as Alphys let out a deep sigh and dropped her face into her hands.

Sans sighed deeply from the floor as Claire slowly picked herself up and came up to the other side of you, resting her hand on your shoulder as you pushed all of your weight into your hand with tears staining your cheeks, panting, “o-okay.. okay, w-when do-does he wake up…?!”

The room was silent as you slowly turned your gaze to Claire who was staring at the mutilated soul before her, it explained… so much.

“D-did you hear me-“ you wheezed, “when d-does he come back-!?”

The stoat carefully shook her head, turning her gaze back to you with her jaws slightly parted in horror, the whiskers on her maw twitching in the violent, shattered light of the Lich’s soul. Your teeth slowly drew together, a deep frown baring your gums to the room as you squeaked within your throat, your fingertips digging into the acrylic desperately, “please, please tell me he is coming back…”

Claire just stared at you, her own eyes welling with tears as a gentle sob wracked through your chest, panic taking hold of your body as you screamed, “please tell me he’s not- h-he’s not- HE CAN’T BE DEAD, PLEASE- TELL ME-!”

There was nothing they could say, they remained silent as your desperate cries turned into a blood curdling scream, high pitched and clawing through your vocal chords with a terrible, wrenching cry of pure agony.

The soul beneath your hand, shivered.

 

***

 

Days had passed.

The detective had come and gone, the shower you had taken mere hours after your mental breakdown was now stagnant as you sat on the heavy desk you had managed to push towards the vats. A thin blanket draped around your shoulders and you bunched the fabric up against your chest, your cell phone set on silent as a few more worried text messages flooded in yet you ignored them, losing yourself to the loud, humming music blasting into your ears, shutting yourself out from the horrid world.

You had been there when they all discussed what happened, too tired, too hurt, to add anything. Apparently, these creeps had recorded most of what they had done and it convincted them all. It was too much for you to bear, and you had stuck your headphones in, having not removed them since then. Mike was arrested, as were other suspects, bodies were counted, yet the case was remained open... Jake had escaped, somehow.

           What did it matter anyways...?

           The blanket scrunched tighter around your body, your spine ached from hunching, your throat burning and dry like the desert sands as you slowly blinked at the machine before you. Claire had seemed adamant, along with Alphys, of testing possible new methods to bring Gaster back, in the similar way he was able to bring Asriel’s body back. Yet, they never had anything to say when you brought it up, so you stopped.

           A gentle, blue light shed upwards over you from the table beside you, another text notification scrolling across the gentle image of that Sunday morning, rain pattering against the window from that memory far buried in time. Beneath all the hurt, your golden soul throbbed weakly, a pitiful, dull, near brown color. The black markings having been upon your skin were faded, near nude in appearance, like old burns, weak. His magic was fading, yet part of it had remained, staining your soul as he stained the sheets of your bed. Like how his words stained your mind, so salty… so harsh, like the sea, _‘I… love you…’_

           How unfair.

Your fingers dug into the sheet around your cold, clammy body yet your grip just gave. Too nauseous, too… _ruined_ , to remain angry anymore. Everyone had tried to get you to eat, but you couldn’t. They tried to persuade you to leave, but they couldn’t make you budge. Silent tears had caressed your cheeks as Sans had stood beside you numerous times, just barely having arrived to sigh deep within his bones, remaining for just a few moments to see if you’d look at him, but you never did, so he would leave.

           The last time that happened was possibly a few hours ago, possibly this morning, possibly last night.

You had tried speaking with Gaster, as you had just about every hour, waiting for a response, for a sign of consciousness. Although, now.. now, you were tired of being scorned, of hearing nothing and seeing no change in the way the Lich’s soul was held in the tank before you. The light from his soul was scattered from the thick, black gouges tearing through the white, pearlescent surface.

But, sometimes, if you stared hard enough a flicker of gold would peer from the depths of the darkness to fizzle from view.

Shifting on the table you exhaled, nearly wheezing as you cleared your parched throat and sat up a tad straighter, focusing in on your soul to bring it forward. The dirtied, putrid golden soul pushed from your chest, suspending in tandem with the Lich’s soul which was held higher than yours inside of the vat. The dark, black smudge lying dormant on the surface as you studied the broken soul for any sort of reaction. You were given, nothing.

A deep, throbbing ache settled into your body, making you wince as you pulled the soul back into your chest, softly gasping as the aches ceased. You were too weak to sustain having your soul parted from you for too long, the sickly color didn’t surprise you anymore. This attempt had not been the first. A gentle tremble took hold of your bottom lip as a soft drumline played into your ears, the lyrics making your eyelids shut as you quivered and hunched into yourself. Trying to find solace in the shuddering of your tired limbs.

 

_‘I dreamt you seduced me, just to walk away_

_I dreamt you inspired, then rewired what I say._

_I dreamt you spread your bottom wings, and pulled me to the bed_

_But then I woke up feeling nauseous, you danced around my head.’_

          

           You remembered the way he held you, days ago, barred against his chest as he breathed and weaved his words of sincerity, _‘we have eternity.’_

           It wasn’t fair.

Bringing a fist up to your face you let your chin drop, concealing your growing pain, tensing your jaw as you swallowed dryly to the lyrics dancing through your brain.

_‘Tell me,_

_how long, how long have I been down?’_

Your emotions hadn’t been contained for days, yet they still managed to find you. You were sick of being sick, sick of drowning within yourself yet you didn’t know how to breach the water and breathe. Your friends were on the surface, reaching outward yet you remained down, deep down within your memories. Choking on the tender bitterness.

_‘I dreamt you burned my fingers. Yes, an automatic sting_

_I dreamt you called me beautiful, then asked to hear me sing_

_I dreamt your scent invited me to crawl within your space’_

_‘But then I woke up feeling nauseous-’_

“hey, kid…” a soft murmur drew from beside you, a gentle touch stroking along your raised arm to your back.

You sniffled, rubbing at your face with the blanket as you cleared your throat and took your time regaining yourself as the skeleton at your side carefully, respectfully waited for you.

_‘Tell me_

_How long, how long have you been down?’_

           Barely being able to hear yourself over the chorus you felt your voice crack, “what time is it…?”

_‘And why can't it work when we both try?_

_We try, we try, we try, how we try_

_And how we try’_

“four in the morning,” he spoke, adding some comforting pressure to your back as he stepped closer to the desk, trying to catch your eyes with his own but your red sclera’s just focused forwards, to the scientist for comfort. You fell silent.

“… c’mon, sun… talk to me…”

_‘I meant to sympathize, I meant to be your friend_

_And no apologizing won't erase the end’_

           His fingertips gently drove into your soft skin, your gaze slowly flicking over to him to see the heavy lines beneath his exhausted, grey sockets. The white lights of his eyes were dim as he stared into your pupils, into your being, as you both shared a moment of silence.

_‘And I wish that only greatness follow you around_

_I hope to God you find a way to keep from down_

_When you do I hope you share it all with me_

_Please try to understand, yeah to understand me_

_Just try to understand me, yeah understand me_

 

_How long, how long have we been down,_

_Down, down? Yeah.’_

          

           Sans carefully reached forward with his free hand to snag the white wire of your earbuds. A flash of déjà vu making you flinch as he plucked the bud from your ear, the end hanging down your chest lifelessly, the song continued to trickle into your other ear, “we think ya’ should go home… for jus’, at least, a day… yeah?”

Shaking your head you just stared at him, your hands carefully binding the blanket tighter around your arms as you set your forearms into your lap. The skeleton breathed softly, “what do’ya think he’d say… if he saw ya’ like this…?”

           “Nothing...” you murmured, turning your gaze back to the vat as he watched you, his sockets twitching, “he hasn’t said anything to me…”

           “listen…” he spoke, drawing closer as his arm slid around your back, the natural Earthly musk of the monster enveloping you as he breathed against the side of your face, “ya’ ain’t doin’ anybody a favor by sittin’ here...”

The skeleton plucked the remaining bud from your ear, your brows twitching from the sensation as the song faintly continued to play from your lap yet he succeeded in drawing your watery gaze back to him as he whispered, “’specially not yourself.”

“What if I’m not here… if- if something happens…?”

Sans’ forced smile faltered as he gently pulled it back into a neutral expression and kept his voice low, calm, a cool breeze brushing against your face from his words, “doll, if ya’ don’t heal your own soul he ain’t gonna have anythin’ to come back to-”

           “That’s not true, Sans,” you stated, your voice raspy as you swallowed and continued, “he’s got you and Papyrus-”

           “heh… nah, kid,” you opened your mouth but he gently shushed you, hooking his arm around your side to slide you across the hard tabletop and into his arms, “none o’ that matters, you need ta’ eat somethin’ and sleep.”

           You couldn’t fight him, gripping to the blanket and your phone. You allowed the skeleton to hoist you up against his chest, your legs dangling over a padded, bony arm as you gazed lifelessly at the glinting metal zipper of the monster’s jacket.

           This wasn’t how he had expected to have you in his arms again, quivering, hurting in a way that medicine couldn’t fix in the shattered light of the Lich’s soul. Sans brought his gaze up to the vat, churning with the nearly complete solution just beside the tube holding the boss monster.

           He had tried to tell him, _‘that’s only a matter of time.’_

A sigh drew through his ribcage, lightly shaking his head as you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to be held up by the skeleton, the weight of the world resting on your temples as he gently turned and flung the both of you through the void. The trip was quick, you were already nauseous, disoriented so it didn’t matter to you as he carefully laid you down on your bed. The dark, cold room making you shiver as he helped you under the sheets and stood, slipping his hands in his jacket as you turned onto your side, your back towards him.

           “i know ya aren’t sleepy, how ‘bout tea…?”

           You shrugged, bunching up the end of your comforter between your fingers as Sans glanced through the room. You hadn’t noticed how they had picked everything up, cleaned the walls, organized. You hadn’t noticed the new sheets on the bed either. A slow grind pressed through the skeleton’s teeth as he just nodded and left the room, sauntering with exhaustion as Chip chittered past his ankles to jump up onto the bed with you. Letting out a curious mewl but you couldn’t respond, feeling the feline carefully step around your legs to situate himself right against your stomach, the deep vibrations running through the animal as he purred, coaxed your eyelids to drop.

           The sensation was not entirely unlike the Lich, his strong body radiating heat as his breath tickled, humming through his chest in satisfaction.

           A pang rang through your heart, scrunching yourself further into the sheets you couldn’t help the tighter shivers taking hold of your diaphragm. You were done sobbing, done making anguished noises that your friends didn’t know how to react to besides Claire who just let you have your peace, have your time to sort your turmoil. There was no comfort in words, only time, only exhaustion numbed the sensation and even then… it would sneak back up on you, just like this.

 

           It didn’t take Sans long to brew the special mix given to him by Toriel, she was giving the special herbs to Frisk and Asriel as well... who both had cried out and tried fighting them, though hysterics set in on the goat child whereas Frisk found themselves sitting on the couch, passing into shock.

He watched the steam billow up from the delicate, golden liquid as he carefully picked up the ceramic. Even Papyrus was sullen, and he didn’t even know Gaster… as he shouldn’t.

           Carefully stepping back to your room he paused in the doorway, his eyes pulling up from the carpet to take in your shivering figure, silently crying again. He pressed inside, numb by this point as he set the mug on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed behind you, his hand resting over on your thigh as he leaned back into the headboard and let out a gentle breath, “i don’t know why ya’ love him-”

           Your shivers ebbed, blinking through the tears, jaw aching from holding back as Sans went on, “but… we love ya’ too, kid.”

           His hand slowly rubbed up and down your waist, attempting to be comforting as he kicked his feet up on the sheets. His bones were scratched, scraped and nicked from his mad dash to get to you at the industrial site.

Sans sighed, “your soul is pretty weak right now, understandably…”

           “Is that why my markings are so faded…?” you croaked, the skeleton pausing his affections as his white eyes flicked down to you while you stared off across the room blankly.

           A few moments passed before he shrugged, “dunno, maybe- i guess…”

           “It’s still there… on my soul, that’s… that’s a good sign, right?”

           He knew, and he wasn’t sure, “yeah…” the skeleton yawned, tilting his head back against the headboard as his sockets closed. The gentle scent of herbs wafting up from the nightstand to embrace the both of you.

           “Thanks for cleaning my flat, Sans…” you murmured, closing your eyes again as you breathed, “I appreciate the new sheets, too.”

           “well, ya know…” he slightly smiled, resting more of his arm over the top of you as he settled in and murmured, “we’re here for ya’, no matter what…”

           “Yeah…” you whispered, the heavy scent of clove, honey and magic graced your nostrils, relaxing your tense, sore muscles, “I know you are…”

           The skeleton’s grin twitched, he knew you were observant but wasn’t expecting it in your current state as he carefully gripped onto your leg and muttered, “shh, dollface, go to sleep…”

           A brief, quick tug of your lips eased your headache, your body accepting the peaceful serenity and companionship as you drifted.

You dreamt of moths, their soft antennae flicking as they drank from a porcelain tea cup, filled to the brim with golden liquid. Cloves, honey and cream washed through your soul, along with the gentle, nurturing brush of a torn, black wing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> G was like: IIIIIIIIIII'M GONNA SWWIIIING FROM THE CHANDELIIEERRRR- FROM THE CHANDELIIERRR!!!  
> -shuts the hatch to my fortified bunker-
> 
> THE STORY ISN'T OVER.  
> PLEASE- MY SCHEDULE WILL BE GOING BACK TO FIVE DAYS SO BEAR WITH ME LOVES. <3


	24. The Process of Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You struggle with coping, as a plan to possibly revive the lich is brought into play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out, it's rather slow paced and was difficult to smooth out.  
> Thanks for all your patience and support you guys, it means so much. <3
> 
> And if you still miss G, well, no fret. Head over to The Sin Mansion where dirtyskellylover and I got you covered with your voidmen needs: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6833458/chapters/15597964

Soft smiles, sideways glances and the gentle, deep warbling of a static filled hum flickered through your quiet mind. Painted across a white backdrop, shimmering the edges of a man’s jagged jaw line. His mouth was a thin line, tilting towards you- it suddenly tugged into the semblance of a grin. You wanted to reach out, to get closer, yet the image faded.

Moaning your muscles tensed, trying to keep a grip on something so familiar... so comforting. The smell of flaky, warm biscuits filled your senses. Tinges of chocolate caressing your palate to sing you sweetly from your slumber, the bright light at the backs of your eyelids beckoned you to rouse into the waking world. Murmurs, the shuffling of dish wear and the warm, small bodies of guests in your bed pecked enough at you for you to obey, your eyelashes fluttering as you stirred.

It had been so long since you had gotten any sleep, even though it was a mere five hours, it had eased the tension and nausea. Hunger and curiosity now drove you.

Staring across the pillow you were still curled into a ball, your palm resting beside you beneath the sheets as the face of a brunette child glimmered in the sun. Wearing a striped sweater, they were on their side, facing you, their features were creased and exhausted. Another being was at your back, shifting as they sat up and rubbed at their eyes.

Asriel murmured, “you awake yet, Sun..?”

“Mnn,” you breathed, slowly stretching your legs outward as you watched Frisk stir, swallowing a gulp of air to press it forth in a deep yawn that the both of you shared. The child turned to you, a grin on their face yet when they peered outward beneath their lashes you were met with red sclera’s, mirroring your own.

Your voice was raspy, “what are you guys doing here…?”

Frisk just smiled and blinked at you, reaching forward to set their hand atop of yours. Laying in the spilling morning light a temporary calm settled through your aching soul, sharing your pain in a silent solace. An aching in your stomach paired with desire from the scent of Toriel’s famous croissants wafting through your apartment, respectful chatter bubbling in the kitchen.

You felt the goat child lean into your back, his arm draping over your side as he peered around your shoulder towards your relaxed features, “we’ve been checking to see if you were back yet for days, Sans let us in.. we didn’t want to wake you up though.”

“That’s fine you guys,” you weakly smiled, your eyelids falling once more as you breathed, “I’m just… very tired…”

Frisk nodded as Asriel sighed, leaning on his elbow against your ribs as he rubbed at his eyes. They were tired as well. You felt your fingertips slowly slide across the soft sheets below, sterile and lacking of any particular scent besides that of downy cloth itself. Impersonal. Cold. But you weren’t alone, the warmth from the kids on either side of you embraced your loneliness and brought a calm to the room, to your mind. You closed your eyes and dozed for a while, Asriel blanketing his body over the top of you, his jaw bunching and resting against your bicep as his arm hung limp across your chest.

The soft shuffling of feet across the carpet woke your broken family, all three of you breathing in and yawning as the strong scent of pastries filled your nostrils and rumbled around in your neglected belly.

“hey, kiddos,” the skeleton chuckled, just beside the bed, “i got offerins..”

Asriel sighed as he slipped from above you, your eyes cracking open as Frisk also sat up, their legs tucked beneath them. Carefully, you followed suit and rolled over onto your back, blinking through your haze to focus in on the monster at your bed side. Sans was watching you warily, his sockets drooped with a casual grin spread across his face. He held a plate of pastries in one hand, a mug of something hot and steaming in the other.

You weren’t sure if you could keep food down, but you couldn’t resist the offer. With a gentle moan you pushed yourself up, drawing your legs towards you to cross them beneath the sheets as the skeleton handed over the plate to the eager hands of Asriel who took a croissant by simply biting down on one and passed the plate to you. A light smile pulled at your lips from the act, plucking a pastry with your fingers before handing the plate to Frisk who sat it on the sheets beside the both of you as they took the final one.

Without hesitating you bit down, the buttery flakey biscuit crumbled beneath your dry bite and spilled forth creamy chocolate that beckoned bite after bite until it was no more. The other two ate more slowly as Sans held out the mug towards you, lifting a brow you carefully took it in both hands and glanced inside. The smell of honey and herbs filling your nostrils, it was tea. For some reason.. you thought of Oliver, your gentle dreams from the the night not lost on you just yet.

“monster food, it’ll help ya not feel so.. ya know,” he murmured, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his track pants. He had spent the night with you, keeping an eye on you and monitoring the weak, bronze soul within your chest. The attentive act was empty on your heart as you sipped the liquid.

Warmth tingled in your ribcage as you drank, cooling your aching throat and tired eyes as Toriel carefully stepped into the room. She glanced over the room as Sans peered over to her, you flicked your attention to her kind features as she came to the foot of the bed and carefully sat down. Her palm against the mattress as she asked, “how are you feeling, my child?”

Swallowing, you held your lips to the rim of the ceramic as you drifted your focus downward while murmuring, “I’m.. not sure.”

“we were talkin’-” Sans said, yet he could not draw your gaze as you sipped at your tea, “-an’ think you should spend the day here.”

You shook your head, lowering your mug into your lap as you flicked your gaze upwards toward Toriel who wore a solemn expression as she murmured, “we feel as if the children would… benefit, from having you at Home.”

“Let’s just go all together,” Asriel shrugged, resting his palms on his knees as he looked between the skeleton and his mother. His ear flicked, an idea pulling a grin onto his face as he turned to you, “I bet I can beat you in blackjack again.”

A smile pulled at your lips, a soft beat of air leaving your nostrils as images of playing cards entered your mind. Flipping them against a cold table, the heavy presence of bright eyes watching your wrists as the number twenty-five tallied between a girl and a flower, nestled in the crust of the Earth.

“Think he still has those cards in his desk…?” you asked, your grin spreading as Asriel leaned back on the palms of his hands, smiling brightly as the room watched the both of you.

“Probably, under all that Macallan..” the child teased, the eighteen-year-old blend of scotch seemed to be a favorite of the scientist.

A soft, fluttering laugh skittered through your throat. Your soul, dim and hurting, flickered a gentle light before fading once more as you replied, focusing on the grin of the child, “messing with his scotch would be a sure fire way to get him to react to me.”

Frisk leaned in as Asriel shrugged, Toriel and Sans sharing a worried glance as the goat said, “he probably can’t respond, your soul is too weak for his magic to use.”

Blinking you slowly nodded, “yeah…”

The kid behind your vision began to sign, Asriel flicking his horizontal pupils past your arm to read their hands before flicking his attention back towards you, “if your soul is strong enough, his magic could be strong enough for his soul to be pulled to it-”

“no,” Sans cut in, drawing your attention as he shook his head, “that’s not how it works-”

“Yeah- it is, dummy,” Asriel huffed, rolling his eyes as Toriel sighed.

“My child, don’t be argumentative.”

“I’m not!” he scoffed, flicking his gaze over your features as he sat up straight once more, his hands falling into his lap, “that’s what happened to me, my soul got pulled towards my magic and poof! There I was, back in my body again.”

Your eyes slowly widened, your heart beginning to pick up but Sans jumped in before you could, “that doesn’t make sense, kid.”

“Well that’s what happened,” he snorted, his mother’s eyes widening as he brought a hand up to wave it idly, “he opened the machine and it just.. came over to me, and then I saw white. It was.. tingly, tickled and felt.. it felt, warm.”

Asriel nodded with the memory, grinning as he gestured towards you, “all you gotta do is get his magic strong enough for his soul to know where to go-”

“if that’s true, he would absorb her soul and kill her.” Sans spoke softly, yet there was a firm edge to his words.

A light gasp drew through your lungs, turning towards the skeleton who met your gaze with a worried expression, “but.. but what if we.. _remove_ his magic, once it’s strong enough-”

Toriel murmured, deep within her thoughts, “almost like a rebirth..”

Sans drew in a deep breath, his jaws clenching as he mulled this over in his mind. He was watching specks of bright light trickle against your dim, sickly soul. It would mean removing the mark, the last fragments still clinging on possessively. In the end.. it would cure you regardless.

Frisk began to sign again, Asriel read their motions while your eyes flickered into space, lost within your thoughts as the goat pipped up, “what do we need to do to help heal your soul?”

The lich’s voice called forth, deep from within your memory, when his presence used to unnerve you. His looming approach laced with a heavy air of wicked intelligence, _‘_ _For you see, the soul naturally reacts to the things we enjoy. Food, comfort.. sex._ _’_

Well, you did eat. You weren’t sure how to be comfortable.. and sex was not something particularly on your mind. Not like he could help you with that anyways.. Sighing, it didn’t seem as if you had a choice, “I guess.. just being at home, watching TV and.. food?”

Toriel smiled softly, reaching across the bed to put her large, gentle paw on your knee. Gathering your attention she murmured, “I feel that is a good idea.”

Sans nodded, exhaling in relief as you began to drink your tea once more. The woman carefully removed her hand and stood from the end of the bed, stepping back to the door she caught the skeleton’s eye and asked, “would you like to help me clean up?”

“sure, tori-” he shrugged, “no bones about it.”

The woman gently laughed as she left the room, the skeleton meandering on after her as you sipped at your tea. The two children on either side of you smiling at one another, finally.. they knew what they had to do. You all were filled, with Determination.

 

“you sure this is a good idea, tori?” the skeleton murmured, his white pupils flicking to the hallway as Chip pattered on by.

“I feel it is a good idea, because it will help her heal.. in time.” The woman said softly, wiping down the counter before stacking her home cooked goodies in a large container, “she lost someone very dear to her.. we should give her support, and love.”

Sans exhaled, his ribs constricting as he pulled his gaze back up to Toriel who offered him the sealed box. He pulled his hands from his pockets and took the offering, watching the kind features of the woman bear into him from above as he replied, “i spose.”  


***

Sans went back to the lab, sharing the treats he brought while you sat at home. You had managed to finally pull yourself from your bed, took a shower and even though you had stood in the scalding current for a near half hour you were clean once more. Chip shadowed your every move as you stepped from the bathroom, hair still wet but tied into a bun, prominently displaying the nude triangles at your neck with the healing stab wound at the center. There was only a scab and fading, reddish bruising left of that day.

G would have appreciated your progress.

He probably did, anyways. You settled in on the couch with Asriel and Frisk, pulling up your show you hesitated. Remembering what had happened, how Jake had tricked you.. you had fallen victim to a brutal attack that made Gaster so.. so angry. That moment was the entire reason that he had begun to fixate so violently, it was all your fault.

The kids noticed the distant look in your eyes and Frisk carefully reached outward, taking the remote from you to instead turn on a light hearted, animated comedy. You swallowed, slowly easing into the cushions at your back as Chip chirped and leapt up to knead the blankets at your side. You glanced down, being unable to smile yet you carefully stroked along his back as the show played into the living room. The wafting scent of a slow cooked, homemade meal wafted from the kitchen as Toriel went about her business whipping something up for dinner while also prepping a light lunch.

Asriel tried to get you to talk, to comment or even react but your brain was just, mush. It was easy to stare off, at the TV, and watch the figures go through their shenanigans that drew smirks and giggles from the children. But, to you, it was just noise, and color. Deep down, there was a traumatic pain that scratched at your heart but you refused to face it. Whenever your thoughts drifted there, you smelt oil.. and heard the rushing of sand.

You weren’t really sure how much time had passed, you were so, utterly exhausted and somehow conscious.. somewhat. It was when Toriel handed the three of you bowls of creamy, fresh potato soup that you managed to shake your haze. The flavors at your palate brought a gentle warmth into your aching joints, bacon, cheese and vegetables all melted together in your mouth as you ate. And as you ate, you felt better. Enough to feel a tad guilty as you glanced over and saw Toriel shuffling about, a smile on her lips as she placed something in the oven.

You didn’t deserve this kindness.

The thought was quick, sudden and seemed to arrive from nowhere. It pulled your attention away from your adoptive mother and into the bowl of remaining soup, only halfway through, your stomach still rumbling, but you couldn’t lift the spoon. The heat from the feline against your thigh did nothing to ease your anxiety, your shame and self-loathing.

You deserved to go hungry.

“Hey,” Asriel quipped, gathering your attention as you glanced to your right, the goat pointing his clean spoon in your direction, “you see something in your food?”

Frisk blinked up at you from the left, taking another bite themselves as you blinked at the child. The words crossed your lips before you could think, “just, not that hungry is all..”

“Same,” the goat nodded, looking into his own bowl as he dipped the spoon back into the steaming, fresh ingredients, “but it does taste pretty good, right?” he lifted the utensil to his mouth, taking another bite as you turned to look into your bowl. Yeah, it did taste really good.

You didn’t earn the right to eat anymore, what good were you anyways..? You only hurt people, you killed people.

Sputters of wheezing, black globs of putrid sludge. The wet, struggling hacking of death.

Shuddering you dropped the spoon against the ceramic, the silverware clattering loudly as you pulled a hand to your face and disguised your pained features. Your shoulders beginning to shake as you swallowed down your emotions, a tightness wound in your throat. The children were looking to you, their expressions grave as Toriel swiftly padded into the room and crouched in front of you, her puffy, gentle fingertips setting on your biceps, “my child, it is okay..”

“No-” you croaked, a whine pulling into your words as you trembled. Hot, burning blood. Splattering the ground. Jangling of chains, the glinting of hardened steel protruding from mutilated ribs. That sound, that heaving, static and gurgled speech. You gave a sob, your other hand leaving the bowl on your lap and covered your face. It was too late to stop it now, your jaw ached as you shuddered, tears spilling into your palms.

The woman slowly frowned, her brows furrowing as she set her hands on your biceps fully, slowly rubbing up and down your limbs in a soothing fashion. She let you cry. Frisk rubbed at their eyes, their own lips quivering while Asriel reached over and set his hand on your back, a tad awkwardly, but affectionate none-the-less.

“It’s okay to hurt, Sun,” she murmured as your emotions faded, a headache pounding in your temples. Sniffling and trying to pull yourself together Toriel continued, “you are carrying a great burden, we are here for you.. to share that sadness, that pain and regret. We appreciate, we love, you.”

Nodding you panted, wiping at your eyes while blinking rapidly. Feeling dizzy, lightheaded and aching you averted your gaze as you murmured, “I’m sorry..”

“My child..” Toriel breathed, drawing up to you as she reached her nurturing hands around the back of your head and shoulder to bring you into a hug, “there is _nothing_ , to be sorry about. Let’s take today slowly, all right? One thing at a time..”

You nodded into the woman’s collarbone, wrapping your arms around her in return. She held you for a few moments, her hand stroking your back softly. She kept you safe, kept you guarded and filled you with a sense of love that warmed your chest. After you had your fill, you relaxed your arms and she pulled away, looking you in the eyes as tears brimmed in her doe-like ones, “do what you need to, to take care of yourself and to heal. It’s okay to not eat if it’s too much, you can try again in a little while.”

“N-no.. I-it’s okay,” you hiccupped, sighing as you wiped at your eyes again and cleared your throat, “it’s really good, thank you..”

“Of course, my child,” she smiled, her hands drifting away from your arms as she stood, “I need to run a few errands, dinner is in the oven but I should be back before it is time to take it out, otherwise I’ll text Frisk.”

The child nodded, smiling at their mother as Asriel chirped beside you, “we’ll be fine, Mom.”

Your face was flush, hot and wet you made sure to wipe away all of the tears with the back of your hand. Toriel exhaled lightly, giving a pat on the head to both Asriel and Frisk before she turned away towards the door. She opened her mouth, turning to look over her shoulder yet closed it as she found you beginning to eat again. Asriel caught his mother’s gaze, lifting a thumbs up out of your field of vision as Frisk also began to dig back in.

The woman smiled, blinking away further tears as she carefully slipped out of the door, locking it behind her with the spare key. The deep lacerations in the wood from the lich had been sealed over, but hastily. Nude reminders of his existence.

***

Claire stood before the machine, her brows furrowed and hands clasped together before her stomach. The upside down, black gouged soul within it was radiating energy and made the air thick, heavy and hot. She always knew there was something, _off_ , about the scientist but never could have predicted something so unnatural.

“that’s why he can’t care ‘bout anybody-” the skeleton drawled, leaning back against the desk with his ankles crossed. He was side eyeing the stoat for some time, an open container of croissants beside him though it was mostly empty, “-that soul doesn’t have enough material in it to be compassionate.”

“Yeah..” she murmured, exhaling loudly through her nostrils while her whiskered twitched, the bright, shattered light emanating from the soul cast a mosaic of light across her face, “but.. what’s holding it together? What.. what even happened? This should be impossible.”

Sans shrugged, his voice low as he dodged the question, “beats me..”

The skeleton turned his gaze away, the magic flowing through his own soul quivered at the knowledge it was borne from the monstrosity behind the acrylic. It shamed him.

“This entire situation is so crazy..” she sighed, drawing a hand up to rub the side of her fluffy, round cheek, “his soul is just.. so powerful, is it from all the LV..?”

“probably,” he breathed, focusing his half lidded expression towards the double doors. It was so quiet on this side of the facility.

“I wonder..” she began, speaking to herself as she raised her hand from her features, outstretching through the broken rays of light towards the vat, “if violence.. could create its own Determination.”

Her claws lightly ticked against the vat, her paw pads carefully setting downward against the scalding acrylic. Such strength, it shadowed anything she had ever encountered, or heard of, in her entire life.

It was then that Alphys thrust open the double doors, sweating and flushed she scrambled, “w-we ha-have mo-more fallen-!” she wheezed, trying to catch her breath as Claire turned and Sans pushed himself from the desk to walk towards the monster, “-m-more fallen go-going grey, w-ward seven!”

“aight, I’m comin’ alph.” Sans cast a gaze over his shoulder as the woman hurried back down the hall, yet Claire remained where she was, “you comin’?”

“I.. I think I need to work on the serum-” she said, nodding her head yet Sans’ gaze drew into a glare.

“you admire him so much ya gotta be like him too?”

His words were harsh, personal, yet Claire just nodded with a quick snort, “when we had Doctor Gaster here we could do both, but if nobody is here to tend to the machine then the cure just sits- and since _you_ refuse to touch this machine, let alone go near it-” the skeleton drew a scowl, “-then I will.”

Sans snorted, pressing his fingertips into the door before him as he grumbled, “he’s dead, it doesn’t matter now to keep starin’ at that soul like it’s gonna suddenly fix all our problems-”

“Not necessarily!” she growled, her neck bristling, “Sun still has bits of his magic remaining, if we could use that as a basis for a physical form-!”

“he’s. dead.” The skeleton spat, his sockets turning black, “the sooner you women figure that out, the better.”

Sans slipped into the hallway, the door shutting behind him as Claire stood in shock, her nose twitching as she scoffed and folded her arms. The stoat turned back towards the machine, muttering under her breath, “ _’you women’_.. what a prick.”

***

Over the next few hours you felt, rested. You spent the day lounging on the couch, the food in your stomach and friends at your side helped ease you into a gentle complacency. With Chip purring on your lap you chuckled along with the kids at the television, Toriel was due back at any moment, the scent of a roast brought the lot of you comfort.

“So,” Asriel smiled, getting your attention as Frisk wrapped a blanket around themselves, nestling against the cushions beside you, “I can see that your soul looks a bit better.”

You blinked at him, “really..?” you didn’t really feel any different, the statement took you by surprise.

“Yeah.. maybe in a week it should be strong enough.” He shrugged, turning his attention back to the television and you slowly followed suit.

A week.. your teeth began to chew into the inside of your cheek, a soft fluttering filling your heart. It seemed like such a long time, even though it truly wasn’t. But, if your soul was healing from just this alone, you could possibly really focus on getting better by taking care of yourself. It would be hard, painful like today, but with help and support like this.. you felt, Hope.

You still wanted to see him, though. While today had been slow and relaxing, you felt a pull towards his power.. his heat. You missed him.

Frisk lifted their hands, signing towards you and the movement gathered your attention yet you couldn’t quite understand what they were saying. Your brow furrowed as Asriel translated on the other side of you, “we miss him too.”

Your lips tugged into a shivering smile, swallowing a lump in your throat you nodded as both of the kids leaned up into your side. Blinking away the tears you turned back to the screen, your hand stroking along Chip’s back with Asriel to your right and Frisk on your left. Sharing the moment, sharing your pain and heartache. They had loved him as well.

 

Dinner time came and went. You didn’t have the stomach for much, but what you did eat was delicious. Afterwards, you tried to help clean up but the kids had shooed you back to your spot on the couch. Having no other choice you sat back down in a huff, kicking your legs up onto the coffee table as Chip meandered around your flat.

Just as you were fading back out into the television show a familiar skeleton landed in the living room, just a few feet away. Normally this would have startled you, but you were too lagged down to be effected. Instead you sat up, catching his attention as you asked, “tomorrow, is it all right if you take me with you to the lab..?”

Sans inhaled deeply, his lids drooping while the bright white lights in his sockets roamed your features. You still looked tired, but the sheer fact that you had sat up, exerting energy to talk to him, was a good sign.

“not so sure ‘bout tomorrow kiddo.”

Blinking, you scrunched your brows together as Toriel peered over her shoulder while washing the dishes. Frisk rounded the counter as Asriel looked up from wiping down the granite countertop, eaves dropping to your conversation as you pressed, “why not..?”

The skeleton sighed, his words riding on the exhale, “more monsters are goin’ gray-” a frown pulled at your lips, “-had a few pass on, nothin’ we could do.”

Frisk made their way across the room, gently tugging on the blue sleeve of San’s jacket. He turned his attention down to the kid, his grin twitching as they signed something. You averted your gaze, chewing at your inner cheek. Without Gaster’s magic, you couldn’t read hands.

“we didn’t exactly have time to talk, kid.”

You heard Asriel snort as he threw down the rag onto the counter, the sound pulling your gaze over to watch at the goat child trudged forward while Toriel shut off the faucet, “you telling me that nobody knows of the plan to try using Gaster’s magic to bring him back-? Why not?!”

Sans’ brows drew together, his gaze flicking up to Toriel as she clasped her hands and watched with uncertainty. He took a moment to gather the right words before looking back down to Asriel, “cuz we had seven monsters die today.”

The woman in the kitchen exhaled, long and slowly while you took your ankles from the coffee table and leaned forward. You continued to chew at your lip, watching the back of the skeleton as he continued to speak, “there wasn’t any time to chit chat-”

“You hated him,” Asriel snorted, his face scrunching in anger. Frisk tried to set their hand on his arm but he jerked his arm away and hissed upward towards the skeleton who gave him a blank stare, “you don’t want him to come back anyways, just so you can stay over here-!”

The accusation made your eyes go wide, almost horrified. Sans just shook his head, slowly, irrefutably but without any words. Toriel stepped from the kitchen into the living room, setting her hand on her fuming son as he was about to spit something else but she spoke first, “perhaps it’s time for bed, my child.”

He gasped, spinning to try to defend himself to his mother but she just help up a hand to keep him quieted down as she went on, “it has only been a day, Sun still needs to regain her strength anyways. Right?”

The goat didn’t like hearing this, he snorted and averted his gaze, folding his arms in a huff.

Sans flicked his eyes over to Frisk who was staring at him, a blank look resting on their features. The skeleton kept himself still, a bead of sweat trickled down his neck regardless.

“We can talk more about this when Sun is ready-”

“I am ready,” you said, carefully standing from the couch as Sans closed his eyes and exhaled.

Toriel straightened up, smiling to you as she nodded, “oh, let me rephrase.. Your soul still isn’t strong enough to handle the process, but when it is we can go over in more detail what needs to happen-”

“Well.. what should I be preparing myself for-?” you asked, stepping up behind Sans as he suddenly stated.

“nothing,” he could feel your eyes bearing into the back of his head, he slowly turned to look you in the eyes from over his shoulder, “nothing.. yet, i guess.”

You found your eyebrows drawing together, folding your arms as you rested on one hip, mimicking Asriel’s pose. You didn’t want to believe that Sans was trying to block the only plan you had thought of with any substance to it, any Hope, to it. But the soft, glistening bead of sweat rolling down the back of his vertebrae told another story.

“Sans, I think I should go with you tomorrow.” You stated, the muscles in your neck tensing as the skeleton eyed you, “Because, with or without you, I will see him.”

He released a slow, grating sigh, again, but relaxed and nodded, “all right, but ya’ leave when i do..”

You nodded, but still ground your jaws together as he turned his attention away from you and towards the kids, and Toriel. Even after all of this.. he still, couldn’t let go. After you said your goodbyes, Sans shut the door to the flat and turned to see you standing right behind him.

“You should talk to him,” you stated, watching the skeleton’s expression as he gave a light laugh and stuck his hands into his jacket pockets.

“he can’t hear me-” he shrugged, “-an’ not like he’d want to anyways.”

With that, the monster vanished. Leaving you irritated, cold and exhausted. You trudged to bed, shutting everything off as you went and as you climbed into the crisp, sterile sheets you hugged a pillow to your chest. Staring off across the room, to the windows. The moonlight leaking in through the blinds, casting rays of light across the floor and the bed. Tucking yourself tighter to the cushion you sighed, closing your eyes as sleep called to you.

You dreamt of rain, pattering against the windows before you. The droplets of water cascading down the side of the glass, warbling and forming into rounded, little shapes. Moths.

***

The next morning you woke up bright and early, not as exhausted as you had been the other day. The food, comfort and company had helped significantly. While you got dressed, taking your time do to so, you couldn’t help but to become excited. Your heart flittering in your chest, anxious to see him again.

Patience soon gave into nervousness, resting your hip against the counter next to your third cup of coffee you texted the skeleton, _‘hey, lazybones, everything all right?’_

It was but a moment for him to reply, _‘* hey, kiddo. i’m sorry, but more fallen are goin’ gray. All hands on deck, ya know?’_

Scrunching your brow, you frowned, _‘I can help, Claire and Alphys showed me what to do.’_

_‘* hands are full, ill call ya in an hour.’_

Huffing you slapped your phone face down on the counter, a slight tremble working into your fingers. Of course you cared about the monsters who were dying, you’ve seen it first hand.. far too personally. But, you began to chew on your bottom lip, you had a sneaking suspicion about the skeleton, one you didn’t want to believe was true.

An hour came and went, as did lunch, into the evening where the kids had come back over and helped you prepare dinner while Toriel tended to cleaning her own flat. You were hurt, frustrated and bitter as you chopped vegetables on the counter. The TV playing in the background as Asriel happily chittered behind you, “we had another idea about helping you get better, faster.”

“Yeah..?” you asked, your eyes piercing into your knife work.

“We thought that meditation is kind of like sleeping, right? We spent all morning finding the right track online, we think you should try it and we can do it with you. Frisk fell asleep last time though.”

The child gave a playful glare to the ambassador, who grinned sheepishly in return. You processed his words, venom still sinking into your soul, unwarranted, “yeah.. that would be fun. I used to meditate a little bit, before I met you guys. It’s relaxing.”

Asriel nodded, smiling proudly, “that’s what I thought too.”

Meditation, breathing.. you curled the handle of the knife against your palm, the blunt end digging into your skin as your cuts became more pointed. A hard, black wheeze, trickling sand. The world around you began to blur, your thumb trailing up to the blunt end of the knife, the tip slowly, carefully, pecking into the wood repeatedly as you chewed the inside of your cheek.

Relax, _relax.._ hot, bubbling black acid staining your fingertips. You could hear your breathing, vibrating through your ear drums as the chatter of the children faded into disjointed murmurs. Why weren’t you allowed to see him..?

The blade came down into the wood, driving into the panel below. Why would Sans betray you like this? You had tried everything to remain friends.. to find common ground, and now he was holding your lover’s soul just out of reach. Afraid of such power burning your hands, even though it had consumed and touched you tenderly for months.

Your gaze hardened, your breathing picking up as the blade came back into the wood, splintering the board as the voices ceased, yet it was no consolidation. Did you deserve to know the scientist? Did you deserve to ever see him again..? Tears pricked at your eyes as you drew the blade upwards again. Maybe not, but, without you.. no one would help him. _You had to help him._ The knife came flying back down, imbedding into the wood below, sweat trailing down the back of your neck.

A white, quick hand grabbed onto your wrist, startling you from your daze as you held the knife against the cutting board and flicked your gaze beside you. The large, wary eyes of Asriel met you as he stared at you. Slowly, you released a shaky breath, easing your grip on the tool until it clattered lifelessly against the wood. The three of you sat in silence, Frisk rubbing their opposing arm carefully as they stood behind their sibling.

“I know you’re mad..” he began, speaking quietly, “we are mad too..” Frisk nodded, yet turned their gaze away while they blinked away tears, “But there’s only one way to show him, and that’s getting better, we made up our minds and it doesn’t matter if he has caught up with us on that decision. It’s not his decision to make.”

Frisk nodded, turning back to you as they forced their hands to remain still. They knew you couldn’t understand them, so they just listened as Asriel was also their voice, “let’s try meditating.. if it helps your soul, maybe.. maybe you can talk to him, with his magic.”

The children gave you serious looks as you blinked, your fingers trembling while you turned towards them and nodded, “o-okay.. you.. you think so?”

Frisk nodded, their smile returning to their face and eased your tense, uncertain muscles. They had also experienced the lich’s dark magic, calling to them in their dreams. The thought, the memories, gave you Hope.

Abandoning the prepped food on the counter Frisk took over for you, pushing the knife away with a look of worry. Asriel led you to your room, instructed you to lay down on the bed and you did so as he stood beside you and tapped through your phone. You hadn’t even realized he had swiped it from you, it took him a moment to bring up the selection but when he did he attached a pair of headphones and handed the items over.

Sighing you stuck the earbuds into your ears, settled in and closed your eyes, murmuring, “I hope this works..”

“Me too,” he replied, twirling around to pad out of the room and flicked the lights off as he exited your bedroom to hurry back to the kitchen to help Frisk prepare stir fry.

Alone, trying to relax, you found it hard to sink into the music. A voice then trickled through, guiding you through the process of regulating your breathing, which you hadn’t realized was so burdened. Slowly, you found yourself drifting away, the tension in your heart and soul being softened to silk. You had only one job, to take care of yourself.. for not only you, but for him.

As you lied there, serenity blanketing your mind and form, your soul gave a weary pulse of yellow light. Trickling to the sore outer edges. You imagined smoke, red and orange, billowing from your lungs on each exhale. Fading away into the air, taking with it your pain, your negativity. You inhaled pure air, filling your chest and spreading down your body into your fingers and toes. Light, calm.. at peace.

A brisk, soft flittered of black wings against your soul pulled a smile on your lips. You didn’t question the feeling, you simply were there in the moment. Suddenly, you didn’t feel so alone anymore. Regardless of the exhausted, curious skeleton peering at you from the hallway with an annoyed Frisk beside him.

The child plucked at Sans’ sleeve, their features scrunched up angrily as they set their free fist against their hip. The monster turned his gaze to the child, exhaling deeply as he was forced to leave the doorway of the bedroom and back into the kitchen where Asriel was stirring the wok, standing on a stool to do so. He didn’t bother to look over his shoulder as he growled, “you really hurt her feelings.”

“you know what feelin’s are now too?” he joked, the children didn’t find it funny as Frisk wildly began to sign at him.

“look, kid- i wasn’t lyin’. i know it means a lot to her, another day home won’t be a big deal-”

 

“Did you at least tell them about the plan now?” Asriel huffed, scrunching his brows together tightly. He was met with silence. Frisk’s jaw went slack, agape as they began to angrily, jerkily sign at the skeleton and took a hard step forward.

“all right.. all right, i get it,” he sighed, holding his hands up in submission to get Frisk to settle down, “i know ya’ think seein’ him will help her soul, but you didn’t see her like i did. she was like a zombie, i was worried it would be too much and i’d come back and find her dead.”

The children both frowned, hard and heavy as they listened, “i didn’t forget about her, we had too much to do, too many fallen progressing worse and worse. that’s not an atmosphere that would help her, is it?”

Frisk, admittedly, shook their head. No, that certainly would not have been a good idea.

“you guys are doin’ yer best, helpin’ her in a better way than starin’ at a dead guy all day, yeah?” he slipped his right hand into his jacket, the left, resting atop Frisk’s head.

“He’s not dead,” the goat muttered, stirring the woke again before shutting off the flame, “you can live without a soul..”

Sans’ shoulders sagged as he peered over at the prince, standing with his back to him. Arms folded.

“yeah.. i ‘spose you can.” He surrendered. “i gotta get back, take care of her tonight.. all right? tomorrow.. i promise.”

Asriel snorted while Frisk just nodded, determined to help you in the best way they knew how. Through kindness, understanding and patience. Sans’ features softened before he vanished, leaving the two children to care for your broken heart, quietly, softly, being stroked by a quivering, lithe tendril.

***

The next day, Sans kept his word. It was a quiet reunion, one you still initiated by placing your hand against the hot acrylic. Shards of light glimmering through the cracked, mutilated soul before you. He didn’t respond to your touch, he never did.. but you didn’t think he could feel it either. Separated, sterile, within the machine.

The tank beside it was bubbling wildly, churning and fighting itself. Nobody knew how to properly cater to such a wild, vicious concoction and it threatened to break apart. Alphys had managed to keep it stable, keep it together, but at times the serum would devolve into this.. mess. She was too nervous to use it, to synthesis it, alone.

All the while, another ward had perished. Stress has set into the team, and yourself. They needed him, you needed him.

Your soul had gotten better, now just a dim gold, instead of a mucky brown.. yet, still not strong enough for his magic to react to. You couldn’t wait any longer, you needed to get better.. you needed your soul to be healthy enough for his magic to feed on it. You hoped that’s all he needed, the thought of having his magic removed made you nauseous.

During your visit you didn’t see Claire nor Alphys, they were busy in the wards and Sans instructed you to not venture over there. Admittedly, you didn’t want to go over there either. Instead, you tried a few things on the lich’s soul, trying to get a reaction from him but nothing would work. Not talking, nor bringing forth your healing soul, would spur the lich into a reaction. Nearing the end of the day, you had given it a rest and instead were rummaging through his desk.

Bottles of scotch, multiple stacks and files of papers, pens, other miscellaneous things.. a deck of playing cards. You swiped the deck, fiddling with the box in your hands as Sans returned. You found yourself blurting out how you tried everything, but still no reaction. You would have looked through his notes for clues about the serum, but his ancient text was lost on you now as well.

The skeleton listened, he didn’t comment as you vented, instead he watched your soul flicker, growing steadily stronger. It was a good thing, you were healing albeit slowly. He took you home, the playing cards still in your hands as you meandered into the living room. You sat on the couch as the skeleton turned around, stepping away as he grabbed onto his magic but your voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Sans.. can I.. can I ask you something..?” you shuffled the deck of cards in your hands, nervousness creeping into your voice as you kept your attention on your fingers. The skeleton turned to look over his shoulder, lifting a brow.

“yeah..”

“When I was.. When I was in the underground, with him,” you began, lightly clearing your throat as your skin began to flush, “he told me how souls react to different things that we enjoy, like food and comfort..”

Sans fully turned around, taking a few steps forward, watching your features carefully with a neutral, exhausted, grin.

“and.. Uhm, sex.”

His eyes widened, his jaw tensing and twitching. Did he just hear you right?

A few moments passed, the shuffling of the cards in your hands the only sound despite the rapid beating of your heart and the sweat building on the skeleton’s ribs, “I was.. thinking…”

 Sans stared at you, his sockets pitch black as you carefully went on, flicking your gaze towards his shocked expression as you murmured, “would it be.. bad?” you asked hesitantly, “I.. I don’t think, we can wait very much longer for this to get better on it’s own.. I think, I think I need.. _help._ ”

Stilling your hands, your fingertips carefully holding onto the edges of the playing cards, you turned your features fully towards the sweating skeleton. He was frozen into place, watching your lips as you worded, “can you… _‘help’_ , me?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Yes I would like to redeem this voucher for the bone zone.'
> 
> 8)))))))))))))


	25. Turning in his Grave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A, nearly, settled score.

Clothes hit the floor, bony fingers running across your arms, your waist. Gripping and pulling your flesh, a soft pant breath through your lips as the hardened ribcage of the skeleton pressed against your chest, leading you backwards.

He hadn’t said anything, you hadn’t either. Yet, you both had managed to end up in each other’s arms, caressing and exploring familiar ground. He orchestrated your soul perfectly, caressing your sides to earn a light flutter, breathing along the crook of your neck to spike a pulse. This had been what he had wanted, for so long.

His patience, had paid off.

The backs of your bare calves hit the edge of the bed, being toppled over with a gasp as the monster above growled low, vibrations coursing through his very marrow as his jaws opened. Tearing apart like thick, gooey cheese to only solidify into a row of sharp, perfect teeth. He pressed you down, a pant weaving against your skin as he drew forward. Closing his gaping maw around your neck, encapsulating part of the nude, abhorrent mark of the lich.

***

The soul within the vat, shivered.

Claire went about reading her notes, studying the clipboard in her hands as Alphys typed away at the machine. Her gaze focused on her hands.

***

A moan slipped from your lips, having closed your eyes you melted into the sheets beneath you. The tender aches and pains of your depressive rut were being soothed away, beneath the dominate bite of the skeleton who shuddered and ground a glowing blue bulge through his shorts against your thigh. Hiking your leg up tighter between his legs the monster gave out a growl, a cold, tingling tendril pressing and winding against your skin.

The monster pulled his fingertips down your sides, earning a shiver from your spine as he slid his index fingers beneath your panties and slowly drew them down. A slight quiver working up through your throat, murmuring, “I’m.. I’m not entirely sure of this-”

Sans easily pulled your ankles free of the frail cloth, bitterly being reminded of how they had once bound your delicate legs around the horrid, broken monster he had come to loathe. The tables had turned, and now, it was him you would be tied to intimately. His teeth pulled at your skin in a playful draw, earning a gasp and shudder from your naked form. Pressing his porcelain cheek against your own, he murmured against your ear, “shh.. it’s okay..”

“He’s going to hate me-” you whimpered with a gasp, Sans nipping at your earlobe.

“relax..” he cooed. The Lich was dead anyways, your soul, and your health, was by far more important than the memory of some unholy beast. Sans basked in how your energy reacted to his every touch, urging him to continue, begging him to live a fantasy.

Despite his instruction, one that could have sent butterflies in your stomach, all it did was wrench uncertainty in your guts. Your soul fluttered, but one in growing panic. You had to get better, you wanted to feel better.. you had been unsure when the Lich asserted pleasure over you for the first time, when it was his fangs dragging across your naked flesh, and you hadn’t regretted it. But now, squirming beneath the advancing skeleton who slipped between your thighs, hiking your legs up against his hips, you found yourself pushing against his ribcage.

“I can’t..” you whispered, shaking your head as Sans rolled his gooey, slippery tongue across your throat, “I’m sorry.. I can’t do this..”

The skeleton sighed, sparking peppermint across your tender, slick skin. He was pressed against your heat, his cool, throbbing shaft still tucked behind his shorts while his white pupils flicked across your features beneath a tired expression. His voice came low, tender.. yet spiked, “what are you afraid of..?”

You stared at him, blinking away the moisture welling in your eyes with your fingertips pressed firmly to his ribs. The sickly scar across his chest, an opposite diagonal slash from the Lich’s, was rough and jagged against your skin. Softly, you murmured, “everything..”

He carefully brought forth a hand, slipping his bony digits along the side of your cheek as he hovered closer. The sharp points of his fangs glistened, a blue glow emanating from within his skull, “it’ll be all right-”

“What about Jake..? The fallen monsters..” you whimpered, a shiver coursing through your spine as he lowered himself fully above you, lightly stroking your cheek with his thumb while he listened, “the public-? What about.. What about G?”

“shh, slow down babe..” he murmured, holding your gaze with his own as he adjusted himself on his knees, pressing his girthy shaft tighter against you. Earning a soft gasp from your lips he went on, noticing the jolt of energy in your soul, “don’ worry about that prick.. paps and undyne are leading the teams to find ‘em. he hasn’t left the city yet, we know that for a fact, he withdrew some money from an ATM downtown last night.”

You carefully nodded, releasing a slow exhale as the skeleton breathed into your mouth, metallic and cold, “we’re all doin’ everythin’ to help the fallen, you don’t need to worry about that-”

“But, if G were here-” you were silenced as the skeleton brought his free hand up to your face, pressing his pointer finger against your supple, moist lips. His expression softened, yet his eyes were so bright and piercing.. familiar.

“he isn’t, and he won’t be.” His words were hard to take, a tremble coursing through your body as you began to grip onto his ribs tightly, “you’re holdin’ onto the edge of a blade, ya’ need to let go-”

“No, you’re wrong,” you hissed, your vision blurring as a tear rolled down your cheek, slipping beneath his fingertips, “I won’t just give up on him, he gave everything for me-”

“he took everythin’, to have you.” He growled, carefully wiping the tear streak from your cheek, but it was quickly replaced as your lungs began to quiver while he went on, “he mercilessly slaughtered people, in the warehouse the cause of death for one of the bodies was a fall that broke his spine-”

“They were trying to kill him, to kill me-!” you snarled, trying to push him away but he held fast and just pressed closer, a flush taking over your skin as panic really began to set in. Your heart beat rapidly in your chest as the monster growled.

“listen to me, while that guy may have died from a fall, he was burned from the inside out because t _he doc shoved his tongue down that guy’s throat-_ ” your eyes went wide, slowly shaking your head, “-causing blisters and suffocation.”

Sans studied your features, his mouth twitching, “he wasn’t defending himself, he was torturing those poor bastards,” he sneered, his white eyes boring into your own just as they vanished and black sockets hovered before your own, “to death.”

You were left speechless, gaping up at the monster as more tears spilled from your eyes. You knew the Lich was intense, and Sans’ words.. you couldn’t just say they were lies. But, anger still welled within your chest, he was trying to get you to hate the scientist, just the same as he did.

“so..” he continued, his white pupils bouncing back into his skull as he blinked and breathed against your open mouth, moving his finger from your lips, “here’s a thought.. on what we should do..”

Blinking through the haze clouding your vision, you didn’t notice how he drew closer, his teeth brushing across your lips as he opened his jaws, swiping the tip of his glowing, blue tendril across your bottom lip. You jolted, whimpering as you shoved at his ribcage but he just rested his bodyweight onto you from above, pinning you to the sheets while he muttered, “let me rescue you, babe.”

“I don’t need-” you growled, yet your parted lips gave him the chance and he took it. Tilting his jaws forward his tongue slipped forth, caressing into your mouth while you squealed and writhed against the mattress. Your soul gave a hard, heavy pulse of golden light as your struggles were muffled against the slimy, cold tendril twisting against your own.

***

A soft, trembling hum drew the women’s attention as they looked up from the spread of papers across the lich’s desk. Claire adjusted the red frames on her snout, scrunching her brows while Alphys’ eyes widened towards the machine.

Within the first vat, the powerful, undead soul inside was shaking, glitching and contorting. Its struggle began meek, at first, but as the stoat took a tentative step forward the machine itself began to quake. It’s bearings to the wall sent hard, angry waves through the dry wall, shuddering the equipment while the soul within gave out a flash of shattered light.

“W-what’s wrong-?!” Alphys exclaimed, holding an arm up to shield her face from the bright light as Claire rushed to the machine, hovering her twitching fingers above the panel. The machine began to beep loudly, the lights illuminating the control panel flickered as an overheat warning blared across the input screen just beneath the vat, above the keys.

_“I- I don’t know-!”_

***

You gave a muffled scream, biting onto the tongue exploring your mouth. The skeleton shuddered, grunting, and pulled away from you. Translucent, glowing spittle clung to your lips as he hovered above you, panting against your flushed features.

“Get off of me,” you hissed.

Staring into his bright, round eyes, he murmured, “your soul.. it’s so beautiful, flicking and lighting up like a christmas tree..” this information stilled your fight as you scrunched your brow, his voice lulling you into relaxation, “all I wanna do is help you, it killed me to see you like that..”

He said your soul was, actually, responding? Lighting up.. ? Could this really.. work? As if he was reading your mind he brushed his teeth across your lips, panting lightly into your mouth as he whispered, “i just wanna see gold in your chest again, whether that means leaving.. or ravishing you.. tell me, what you want.”

You bit onto your bottom lip, blinking away the tears and frustration as indecision twisted and churned in your stomach. This wasn’t the person you were craving, his words weren’t poetic, or filled with an echoed static like that of a machine, but.. it could get you closer, to seeing him again.

This was wrong.

Without another word he slipped an arm beneath your lower back, tucking you tighter to his groin as he slowly rolled his hips against you. A pant breaking through his maw as your fingers shook against his ribcage, just as you were about to speak he dipped his tongue back into your mouth. Your heart jolting once more as you tentatively reacted, clumsily stroking along his thick, squishy tongue.

***

A loud, deep, bellowing groan pulled through the machine. Claire gasped as bright blue sparks began to arch across the vat, skittering across the panel just beneath her hands as she whirled backwards. Her neck bristled as she stared upward at the boss monster soul within the acrylic, pulsing, vibrating.. livid.

“Wh-what should we do-?! H-he’s going t-to break the vat!” Alphys shouted, sweat trickling down her neck as Claire twisted to look over her shoulder, silhouetted against the bright, shattered rays of light churning through the broken soul against the wall.

“He’s going to break the entire machine-!” her eyes went wide behind her red framed glasses, her lips pulling into a frown as she commanded, “call Sans, _we need help!_ ”

***

Hot and cold, mixing together as you both panted past one another’s fangs. Your fingers fumbled, trembling as they slid around the curve of his ribcage to his spine. He could feel your wetness, tantalizing him beneath the fabric of his shorts. Groping his way down your sides, over your slender thighs, he fumbled with his shorts just as a loud ringing clamored through your flat.

You gasped, being snapped out of a trance. Breaking the tender kissing with the monster as you breathed, “is that your phone..?”

“mnn,” he groaned, rolling his eyes within his skull, his thumb hooked within his shorts as he hesitated and glanced over his shoulder.

Something hot, and painful, was building in your chest, causing you to wince as you slid your hands away from the monster above you, “you should.. probably get that.”

Sans continued to wait, the ring tone suddenly going dead. He turned his focus back down to you, watching how you panted, sweat beginning to glisten against your neck and bare chest. Running his tongue across his glimmering fangs, his thumb began to draw his shorts downward. But, the ringing just came back full force.

Anxiety gnawed into your stomach, flicking your gaze past the skeleton to the hallway. He released a heavy sigh, begrudgingly pulling his hand away from his groin. The monster turned, looking down the hall while lifting his hand as a soft blue hue drew up around his digits. Using his magic, he plucked the device from his jacket laying in a heap on the floor and pulled it towards him at a frightening speed.

You flinched as the plastic clacked against his fingers, his thumb swiping across the screen as he grumbled, “yea-?”

 _‘Sans-!’_ the both of you jumped, the skeleton holding the device out from his face as a loud whirring blared in the background, Alphys’ terrified voice trembling into the receiver on the other end, _‘w-we need your he-help!’_

Your eyes went wide, propping yourself up on your elbows as the skeleton straightened up, glaring strangely at his device, _‘w-we can’t stabilize it!’_

Another voice, Claire, barked from the background above the sounds of crackling static and shuddering metal, _‘we’re going to lose everything-!’_

“all right- all right, give me a damn second-” he breathed, shuffling off of you as you closed your thighs and sat up. Staring after the monster, he ran down the hall, swiping his jacket off of the floor as he abruptly hung up on the women. Pocketing the device, he threw his jacket over his shoulders, took a deep breath, and paused. He glanced over his shoulder at you.. his eyes filled with regret, and vanished.

You were left, stunned, confused and feeling light headed. You brought a shaky hand up to your face, not realizing how hard you were panting as a shiver wound down your form. You almost.. you were so close to..

A whine left your throat, shutting your eyes as you bunched your legs up against your chest, feeling disgusted with yourself. “What’s wrong with me…?” you hissed, your voice quivering as you covered your features with both hands.

The faintest, lithe caress touched the back of your hands and the side of your arm. It felt like, claws. Gasping you shot your gaze up over your hands, expecting to meet a cracked, white face but instead only the quiet room was laid before you.

“I’m going.. I’m going insane..” you murmured, a few tears slipping from your eyes as you shakily scooted off of the mattress and stepped towards the bathroom. You needed a cold shower.

After turning on the water, slamming the knob clear into the most frigid setting, you stood there, trembling and holding your face. Trying to regain your thoughts and sanity as tremors took hold of your form. Your lips began to murmur, to chant apologies to the dead. Standing there for a few moments your body heaved, wracked with sobs from what you had nearly just done. Desperation was making you sick, and stupid.

So distraught, you didn’t notice the darkening marks upon your skin, the growth of magical energy in your pained soul. Trying to escape from the crushing, agonizing remorse in your chest, you slipped into the current, about to punish yourself with the harsh, chilling water. But only warm, inviting cascades embraced you. Stunned, and confused you peered over your shoulder, your eyes big and bright red as you watched the dial ever so slowly turn slightly warmer before stilling.

***

When Sans landed in the lab, it was as if reality was pulled out from under his feet. He stumbled, jolted and collapsed onto the floor while his vision twisted and spun. The static and sparking from the machine was distant as were the voices of Claire and Alphys, who rushed to his side. It was like being submerged, there was no direction, no up or down, just tumbling into the depths as waves of power crashed into his soul.

Claire set her hand on the skeleton’s cheek, staring wide eyed into the pitch black sockets of the sweating skeleton. She was speaking, yet nothing was sticking with Sans. He just simply stared, blank and lifeless at the ceiling as the woman shook him.

Whispers, feral and grating ground into his marrow. Ancient, wrathful, suffocating. A harsh incantation struck into his mind, his bones quivering before he fell limp, a choked gasp the only thing able to squeak from his throat.

“Sans-! Sans!?” the stoat shouted, gently slapping the side of his sweating cheek as a loud whirr fell across the room that faded with a soft echo.

Alphys brought her gaze upward towards the machine, the lights flickering gently before illuminating normally. The soul within the vat freely floated, the light emanating from its broken surface continued to pulse brightly, but the overheat warning disappeared. The woman breathed, “wh-what.. w-what is ha-happening..?”

“I don’t know..” Claire murmured, continuing to support the unconscious skeleton as she glanced over her shoulder at the machine. The metal was white hot, smoldering and steaming against the edges of the acrylic as the boss monster within, relaxed.

Turning her gaze back towards Sans, the stoat murmured, “is he.. is he okay?”

Alphys nervously tapped her claws together, remembering the last time the Lich’s magic infested the skeleton, “I.. I h-have an idea..”

The woman knelt on the floor beside the skeleton, lightly placing her hand on his exposed ribcage, above the scar slashed across his bones, “.. D-doctor Ga-gaster..?”

Silence, at first.

Then came the low, reverberating, guttural growl that shook the skeleton’s bones to the core and twisted against his soul. The sensation startled Alphys, drawing her hand back as the women went slack jawed. Suddenly, the skeleton gasped, wheezing as his pupils shot back into his sockets and he began to hack wildly.

Claire immediately helped Sans sit up, sweat beading down his skull as he gasped, coughed and tried to regain his breathing. As if he had breached the water, nearly having drown. Light blue trickles of liquid magic seeped through his teeth, trailing along his jawline to drip onto his ribcage as he panted laboriously.

The stoat slowly rubbed the monster’s back, her expression softening as she murmured, “Sans..?”

He didn’t seem to hear her right away, bringing his fist up before his mouth, gagging and sputtering. It took a moment for his fit to subside, aches and pains grinding in his joints as he lowered his hand and flicked his dimly lit eyes towards the stoat. She waited for him to respond, but his focus just went over her shoulder towards the machine, directly on the damaged soul floating within.

“Sans.” She tried.

The monster continued to pant, his brows drawing into a scowl as more of his sickly magic spilled from his jaws downward onto his scarred ribs.

Alphys attempted next, her hand carefully resting on his arm as she stammered, “S-sans.. a-are you o-okay..?”

The two women beside him faded from existence as he locked his gaze onto the upside down, pearlescent, black gouged soul thrumming behind the acrylic. Hot air warbled the outline of the machine, yet the Lich within was not distorted from the mirage effect. Sans’ heavy breathing echoed through his own skull as anger, frustration and disbelief welled inside of him.

Claire gently shook him, trying to break him out of his fixation as the women gave each other worried glances, they both spoke simultaneously, “please, t-talk to us.”

Sans’ pupils wavered, the only thing in this reality was him.. and the wretched, undead monster soul placed within the machine.

That Bastard.. he really _wasn’t_ dead. Just like the first time, except now.. the skeleton couldn’t hide behind disbelief. It was time for the moment he longed for, yet pushed deep down, unwilling to deal with it. He had no choice, now.

It took about an hour to get the women to leave him alone, and go back to their wards. He had been fawned over, made to drink water and sit for some time as they tried to question him on what happened. Apparently, he had growled when they spoke his father’s name, his title. He didn’t remember a thing, and he refused to divulge on what he knew had caused the strong reaction from the lich’s soul.

With the double doors now closed, the room still and silent, Sans finished off his bottle of water and set it on the desk as he strode up to the machine, his eyes narrowed upward at the soul before him. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he murmured, “so.. you saw what was happening, eh?”

The monster chuckled, shaking his head while his fingers curled into his palms, “i’d call us even.. but we both know that’s far from the truth..”

The skeleton waited, although, he didn’t know exactly what for, or why.

Words found him as he exhaled, “you’re supposed to be dead. it was game over for you, officially this time.”

A chuckle began to ring through his skull, his hands balling into fists while he stuffed them deeper in his jacket pockets and shrugged, “yet, you don’t work like that.. do you?” he flicked his gaze over the broken soul floating behind the heated acrylic, “..nah, you do whatever the fuck you want, to whoever you want and get away with it. each, and every, time.”

He turned, parallel to the wall, trailing alongside the machine as he glared sideways across the room, muttering venomously, “you jus’ always get what ya’ want, no matter who it hurts, no matter the consequence..”

Silence. He continued anyways, spinning on his heel to pace the other direction, “we don’ get to just reset, to _pause_ , yet here you are. holdin’ onto this, onto her, when she should be grieving and moving on. you can’t even let that go, can ya..? nah.. because you have no limitations, you’re a _‘lich.’_ ”

“an.. unearthly _thing_ , an impossibility..” the skeleton growled, stepping carefully as he came to a halt, his bones beginning to ache as he spat, “ _you’re_.. impossible.”

He waited a few moments, struggling with himself internally yet his voice trickled into the room regardless, “since I first opened my eyes.. and saw.. _you._ ” his bones began to shake, rattling within his jacket as his emotions boiled to the surface.

“and then, you saw me. you looked.. disgusted,” he murmured, a breathy laugh riding on his words, “i couldn’t understand what you were saying, at first. but after all the tests, the disapproving, patronizing _sighing._. i gathered what you thought of me..”

“you hated me, you still do, don’t you?” the skeleton grumbled, “because i was a failure, i couldn’t break the barrier.. so that meant _you_ couldn’t break the barrier.”

Whipping around he tore a hand from his pocket, waving it around beside him as he snarled, “doctor, wd goddamn-gaster!” his sockets went pitch black, “the royal scientist, the one who built the core-! the war hero who was too cocky and didn’t take into account a blade can also swing upwards! you’re so fucking full of yourself.. maybe you’re better off like this, maybe we all are.”

Sans scoffed, dismissing the soul in the vat as he abruptly turned and began to stride away from the machine. The whites of his eyes sprung back into his sockets as he growled, a pressure building in his head. This was stupid, the Lich couldn’t hear him anyways.. he was dead, _he was supposed to be dead._

The skeleton stopped, his back to the machine as he let his chin drop, pulling his other fist free from his jacket to remain at his side while he hissed, “all you do.. is hurt people.”

“do you hear me..?” he lifted his gaze, a tremble working into his voice, “all my life, you were never really there. i was a pet, an experiment, not a little kid in your eyes. neither was paps. we were your.. _property._ ”

Slowly, he swept a foot back across the smooth, cold floor as he turned to glare at the machine, his sockets black once more, “just like her, your property.”

Silence. The soul of the lich hung in eerie suspension, not even a flicker was summoned to the surface. Sans could feel anger searing into his marrow, burying and squirming inside of his rotten, fermented memories as they were called to the surface.

“what, got nothin’ to say to me now?”

He began his approach once more, keeping his eyes locked onto the soul hovering before him as the distance began to close. He wouldn’t be afraid of him, he would finally get all of this off of his chest. It wouldn’t be held over his head, not anymore.

“it’s been such a long time comin’, what i’m gonna say.. yet, you refuse to acknowledge me per usual. right when you were so passionate, just an hour ago-“

The skeleton cut himself off as he snarled, the vibrations coursing through his marrow as his footfalls reverberated through the room, “don’t want to talk to your little _failure?_ ”

He found himself clenching his fingers into his palms, the bones creaking with the strain while his brows furrowed. Pure, hot iron poured through his magic, loathing coated his tongue. “couldn’t say it then, can’t say it now-?!”

Sans’ teeth were beginning to divot, sharpen and pull apart, just as he barked upwards to the vat, “why can’t you fucking answer me?!”

“i know you can hear me- you can’t play dead!” his shoulders began to rise, a shudder working down his bones, nestling into the very core of his being. The silence was deafening, the heat from the machine sweltering and brought dew drops to form upon his vertebra.

“afraid of saying it-?!” he lifted his chin, his jaws creaking with the tension wringing through his physical form, his magic struggling, breaking through his control, “you just can’t bring yourself to tell me what you had been thinkin’ of me for a century, if not more?!”

A manic, desperate wheeze strained through his throat, as he stared wide eyed at the soul before him. It didn’t respond, in any way.

“i ain’t gonna let you _off the hook_ on this..” the monster panted, his breath the only sound in the room as he waited.. all in vain, he then badgered, “you need _me_ to say it-?!”

The flecks of water dripping down across his ribcage did little to ease the fire inside of him. The energy weaving through him was leaking through the cracks, prodding and poking, widening the spaces and it was but a moment before his left eye burst into a blue flame. Drawing his fist backward he shouted, his other hand curling into an angry grasp of the air before his chest, “i’ll do it, i’ll finally say what you couldn’t, and still can’t-!” the monster shuddered, glaring up into the boss monster’s soul before him, hiding behind the acrylic.

His father was cowardly, only wanting to attack him when he least expected it. Hateful, like the blank stare he received as a child, before the door was slammed in his face. Cold, like the empty, black spaces in his wretched soul. _“why can’t you just- fucking say it-?! just, tell me, to my face-!”_

The blue, wicked light flashing in his left socket burst, yellow spinning in the center, circling his pupil with a gravitational violence. He was moving, without even realizing it. The reflection of that bastard was right before him. Staring, with malice, downward. Sans screamed, a throat tearing, battle cry as his fist came down to meet the acrylic.

“-YOU FUCKIN’ DISSAPOINT ME!”

A loud, echoing shatter rang out through the facility. Spidering fissures leapt from the impact, encircling the skeletal hand wedged in the concave, smooth surface of the vat. The violence of the blow shook his bones, warbling his magic and spiked a flare in his left socket. Beautiful cerulean bathed the machine, pierced only by the fragments of white, hot light from the Lich’s soul still within.

There, the monster stood. Heaving, sweating and with his fist still imbedded in the shards of cracked plastic. Sans let his eyelids fall, shutting off the bright blue light from the room as he panted through his open jaws, the light glimmering from his sharp canines. Somehow, his voice found him, weak and troubled, “i haven’t spoken in uppercase.. since paps was born.”

“you were gonna use him, like you used me..” he muttered, “i couldn’t.. allow myself, to forget all the shit you did. with those human souls, with me.. i didn’t understand the need to leave the underground, what was the point, when war waited for us outside? when the only way was to bleed souls of their energy, using it for our own curiosity. it was wrong.”

His fist slowly unfurled, his fingertips slipping downward, clinking against the disheveled webbing of fractured clear acrylic. He opened his eyes once more, gracing the machine with bright waves of blue, as energy flickered and twisted like fire from his left socket, “i didn’t want that grim reality, where morality didn’t matter. i didn’t want it for myself.. or for my brother.”

The skeleton’s voice cracked, bringing his free hand up to his features, smothering his expression from view, “i didn’t want it for her..” the light in the vat, ever so slightly, dimmed. It went unnoticed to the monster as he fumbled, “she doesn’t deserve pain, she deserves love.. and peace.”

“she deserves..” the monster groaned, rubbing at his aching features with his fingertips, “to be happy..”

Realization began to sink in, bitterly. Sans drew his jaws together, his teeth reforming into a neutral grin, dropping his hand away from his face he glanced upward, towards the Lich. Slipping his free hand into his jacket, he admitted, “and.. she.. _was,_ happy.”

Carefully, the monster drew his delicate digits from the damaged vat, taking in the spiraling damage across the entire surface now adorned in an intricate web of fissures. It obscured the view of the Lich’s soul, which had flickered as Sans pulled his shoulders back and set his trembling hand back into his jacket, joining the other.

He stood, for a moment. Silent, catching his breath, as the sweat coating his bones continued to trail over his body. Bathed in the mosaic of broken light he then spoke, quiet and subdued, “you’re a man, enslaved to his own violence.. but, she must see some part of you that i just.. can’t.”

The monster inhaled, a tremble working on his syllables, “i love her too.. but, maybe.. not in the same way as i thought..” the corners of his mouth twitched, staring at the machine beneath a half lidded expression, “especially if all that made you roll in your grave..”

He let out a slow, deep breath that shook through his skull, “okay..” the skeleton peered over the damage he had caused before glancing down to the input panel, casually reading over the status’ and found that he hadn’t interrupted the environment within. The panel would have to be replaced, but it was fine for now until they had another place to transfer the soul while the vat was replaced.

“all right..” he swallowed, bringing his gaze onto the fractured acrylic, his father’s soul hovering just behind it, “you made your point..”

Sans slowly turned, his gaze cast downward as he shuffled away from the machine, murmuring, “we never had this conversation..”

As he stepped, he felt a tad lighter, but equally exhausted. The light in his eye was extinguished as his white pupils returned, his magic fizzling audibly while he pressed through the heavy metal door and left the office. The door clicked behind him as he glanced upwards, blinking at the two women who stood there nervously, wringing their hands.

Great.

Claire went to open her mouth but Sans quickly interrupted, his sockets drooping further, “i think you were onto somethin’, usin’ sun’s soul..”

She blinked rapidly, adjusting her glasses as the skeleton passed them by, shuffling between them as Alphys tried to pipe up next, “S-sans..?”

“ya may wanna get prepared to remove doc’s magic.. we’re out of anesthetic for humans.”

The two women looked at each other, giving odd glances and as they turned forward once more to find that Sans was gone. Claire swallowed dryly, dipping her snout towards Alphys as she murmured, “well.. I never knew he.. he was..”

Alphys sighed, “yeah..” she let out a puff of air, pulling her shoulders back, “w-we sh-should g-go over ev-everything.. I.. I think w-we can r-remove the mark, an-and his magic b-by tomorrow night.”

The stoat nodded, adding on as they turned back towards their wards, and the pharmacy, “if we hurry..”

Finally, they had Sans on their side.

***

After your shower you had brought yourself back into the living room, bundled up in a thick blanket while staring at the deck of playing cards on the table. Your cell phone in your hands as you idly traced the crack in the screen with your thumb, nipping at your bottom lip as beads of water dripped from your soaking locks.

Suddenly, the device lit up, and your motions unlocked your phone, opening up the text message it had received.

_‘* you’ve got an appointment tomorrow, we’re gon’ try to bring him back.’_

_‘* and.. i’m sorry, kiddo.’_

Stunned, confused and insecure your teeth pulled at your bottom lip as your thumb slowly tapped away at the screen, a pain rising in your chest much like heart burn, _‘wait, what..?’_

_‘* i lied.’_

Your eyes slowly widened, gripping onto the edges of the device as he went on.

_‘* it doesn’t matter how bright your soul is. we can remove the magic regardless.’_

Swallowing dryly, your jaw began to tighten.

_‘* it’s gon’ hurt, but.. we can do it. he’s.. uh, pretty strong, kid.. once he has access to physical magic he should grab on, I don’t know how.. but, he’s conscious.’_

Oh, God.. bringing a hand up to your mouth you shivered, hunching over the device as your teeth ground into your own flesh. Gaster had seen everything, he caused the scene back at the lab.. from just his soul alone. Was it out of anger..? Or did he know it was the only way he could distract Sans?

But why didn’t he show himself to you sooner? Why to _Sans?_ Why did he wait, until you were so vulnerable and desperate? So many questions blew by in your mind, swimming in confusion, in regret and sadness you felt overwhelmed.

“Prick..” you muttered, blinking away the tears that clouded your vision. Your hand dropped to your chest, applying pressure as you cleared your throat to the ache drawing into your ribcage. A sigh left your lips, guilt was already eating you alive, and you couldn’t try deflecting your own actions..

“Sorry..” you added, focusing on the screen as you typed a reply.

_‘Oh.. what happened?’_

You waited a few moments, sighing as you dipped your head and ran your fingers into your wet hair, resting the weight of your skull into your palm. Unsure of what to think, of even what to feel, you let silence close in around you. Chip was probably back under your bed somewhere, probably equally disgusted with you as you were..

“he knocked me out, cold,” the baritone, familiar voice murmured right off of the living room.

Startled, you slightly jumped and lifted your head to look at the skeleton who stood hunched and exhausted. The most drained you had ever seen him, deep shadows crossed beneath his sockets with his hands pressed into the pockets of his blue jacket, “right when i got there, he just.. jumped my magic, suffocated me out within seconds.”

Blinking up at him, you carefully straightened back up, idly holding your phone in one hand while the other fell limp into your lap. Your voice was nearly a whisper, “he.. he attacked you..?”

The skeleton shrugged, taking a step forward and before you could speak he said it for you, “look, what happened..” a heavy sigh rode on his words, “let’s move past it. all right..?”

Carefully, you nodded, averting your gaze to your lap as you aimlessly ran your fingertips along the edges of your phone. Pretending to study the cracks in the surface.

Sans watched you for a moment before he eventually spoke, “you gonna be okay tonight..?”

You just nodded, swallowing dryly. You didn’t have the courage, or the energy to talk to him.

“all right.. try to get some rest, take it easy.. it’s.. it’s gonna be a busy day tomorrow.”

Lightly grinding your teeth you nodded again, blinking rapidly at further moisture welling in your eyes. The flat fell silent, and you didn’t need to look to know that he was gone. After a few more minutes of sitting in dim, coldness you picked yourself up and meandered to your room. It was hard, looking at your bed, the crimped and shuffled sheets a painful reminder of the stupidity desperation had drawn you towards.

Regardless, you shut off the lights, plugged your phone in and set it on the nightstand. Crawling beneath the sheets, still wrapped in the blanket from in the living room, you laid on your side. Bringing your knees up to your chest you pulled the fabric taunt around your aching form. The subtle, tender soreness in your chest had grown tolerable as you closed your eyes. The silence was deafening, but somehow.. you managed to fade from reality.

You felt light, almost like spinning in slow motion, the sensation was disorienting. An influx of adrenaline, of something.. _powerful_ , coursed through your veins. A murmur, echoed, disjointed, beckoned you to open your eyes. You were floating, weightless in a sea of white.

_‘…love..’_

Your heart gave a pang, ringing through your bones as you felt unbridled emotions surge to the surface, all over again. Unable to speak, unable to say his name, you instead felt the gentle touch of rough fingertips against the sides of your arms. Trembling, a choked sob cracked through your throat, ducking your chin to your chest as you hugged yourself tighter and shut your eyes.

The soft, echoing voice returned, a mere whisper on the wind, _‘shh..’_

Gentle touches gave way to the warm, strong embrace of ghostly hands caressing towards your back. The fizzled, invisible fingers pressed through the locks of your hair, cupping the back of your skull as you were drawn inwards, into a comforting, strong heat. Your body gave another shudder, unsure of where you are.. if you were dreaming, or if this was real..

_‘i.. have… you.’_

A light sob broke through your throat, strained and heavy. Your mind began to bleed the suppressed pain, the guilt and the regret. While you began to let go, your body truly began to relax. Being able to feel the hard, scalding chest pressed against you. You couldn’t move your arms, pinned between yourself and this unearthly apparition that you couldn’t see.

Time had no meaning in this place, it seemed to trickle on for hours.. possibly days, or even a few minutes. It didn’t matter. Eventually, your shakes and shivers gave way to peace, being able to catch your breath and inhale the spiced, earthy tones of the lich. Embracing this memory, this.. vision. You allowed yourself to submit to the protective grip your dream had you incased in.

A tingling started in your toes, working upwards to your legs. It was a cooling, calming effect.. your body rendering to space, and the universe, as your form drifted apart. The fluttering of moth’s wings, white, and innocent, clouded your senses as you were pulled into a deeper sleep.

On the inside, your mind lost consciousness, accepting the warm tuck of the sheets around you.

On the outside.. a gentle, invisible tug lifted the end of your blanket, covering your exposed shoulder before a light, tender breeze folded a stray lock of hair behind your ear. A large, broad shadow seemed to glide across the room, before vanishing. The golden energy of your soul began to accept the dark, twisted magic settling within it.. allowing your life force to feed from that of the dead.

***

The machine mounted against the wall quietly whirred, as it always did.

But, the soul within the vat, dimmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH SHIT BOI
> 
> OH NO SON  
> I wonder what this will spell? Hmmmm -eyebrow wiggle-  
> We are so close guys, DO YOU FEEL IT?!
> 
> Also, have this: http://allocatealoe.tumblr.com/post/144940071295/facing-your-demons-a-penny-short-and-a-day-late


	26. Backstreet's Back ALL RIGHT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's the day.

_‘She deserves.. to be.. Happy..’_

_The sentiment had stayed within him, in this place of light, subconscious reality. It had taken so long to pin point her. Her energy had alluded him, yet he could feel her nearby, just out of reach. But then it had called to him, panicked and afraid. He wasn’t sure when that was, time had no meaning here. Yet, he was so sure he heard the skeleton speaking.. angry, and honest. The words had stuck with him, and he had to agree._

_She deserves to be Happy._

***

It was mid-afternoon by the time you woke. You were wide awake, for the first time in.. you didn’t even know how long. No longer exhausted, no longer sedate and sore you carefully pressed yourself up from the sheets and exhaled while running your fingers back through your hair. Your dreams were fuzzy, not truly being able to remember them, but you remembered the smell of leaves, and the comfort of peace.

Squinting towards the windows you took in how the light shone through the blinds, basking the room in a gentle striping. Your gaze fell back down, lingering on Chip who had tucked his paws inward towards his chest, slightly rolled onto his back, fast asleep. A light smile graced your lips, turning towards the nightstand to grab your phone, pulling it free of the cord and dropped onto your back. The sheets and pillows embraced you as you swiped your finger across the still screen to come face to face with your home background.

Your eyes lingered on the image, tracing over the lich’s gentle features.. for some reason.. there was no pain with this memory. You felt.. Hope. Sans had said today. Today was it, you were ready. Glancing at the time you frowned, it was only ten in the morning. With a sigh you tapped on your messaging system, blinking at the single notification from Jenny. Having expected a small novel you quickly clicked on the log, flicking your gaze across her message.

She had sent it early this morning, a couple hours ago.

_‘Hey girlie.. I’m not too sure what’s going on right now, I got a call from detective Briggs about something going to happen at the labs and I’m just really worried. Are you okay? I know you said you wanted space, but I’m a little freaked out right now. Call me when you can, okay? I love you.’_

Today. Today was the day. Gathering your courage, you drew in a deep breath, tapping on the call button and brought your phone to the side of your face as you exhaled. It took only a few rings before your friend picked up the other line, instead of being bombarded, per usual, she was soft spoken, _‘Sunshine.. are you okay-? Did something bad happen-?’_

Clearing your throat you murmured, “no, Jen.. Uhm, I just have an.. appointment, later today.”

You were unsure how to say this, it was still processing in your mind and you weren’t sure what to expect. But regardless of what happened, you were ready.

Your friend’s impatience was evident as she pressed, _‘what’s going on-? Do you want me to come with you-? Is it your head-?’_

“N-no, I’m healed up pretty well right now.. Uhm..” you sighed, deciding to just spit it all out, “you know how G left some of his magic with me..?” she didn’t respond, holding her breath on the other line as you went on, “we think.. we think that if we remove it, his soul will use it to create a new body.”

She was quiet, for a moment, _‘.. is it going to hurt, like.. surgery?’_

“I’m not sure.. maybe..” you replied, gently nipping onto the inside of your cheek. This time, she really didn’t respond, for several breaths. Nervously, you spoke up again, “I.. I think it would be nice, if you came with me.. I’m, anxious about it..”

 _‘I’ll be over in ten minutes-’_ you blinked wildly, taken aback and she cut you off before you could speak, _‘don’t worry I’ll bring breakfast, and clothes, I’m going to change at your house if that’s okay-? Okay, see you soon.’_

With that the line cut off. Your lips drew into your cheeks, uncertainty crossing your palate as you laid there and lowered your phone to look at the screen. You should probably get up to unlock the door, yet.. you were comfortable. Relaxed.

Your brow began to scrunch. Why?

There was no reason to feel better, as you now did. It didn’t make any sense.. Slowly, you sat back up, dropping your cellphone into your lap and focused. Staring at the space above your chest, you grasped at the golden energy dwelling within your ribcage. A warm spilled forth, washing over your body in an elegant wave that stunned and distracted you.

“What…” you whispered, pulling yourself back together, feeling flushed. Tentatively, you tried again, ignoring the soothing calm attempting to manipulate your mind and pulled forth your soul. Your eyes widened, the yellow heart shimmering brilliantly, bathing the sheets and your form in a gentle light. It wasn’t healed, not fully, but it had recovered from the sickly brown muck having been its radiance the past week or so.

It took a moment, but as you stared, you noticed something.. off. Carefully you turned your soul over, lifting a hand to cup the back of it and gasped, dread filling your heart as the black tendril wound across it had shrunk considerably.

“No… no, no G-” gently you reached out with your pointer and index fingers, lightly tracing over the black vein, causing it to shudder and flinch against your soul. A wrenching sensation grabbing your guts, taking your breath away.

Gasping, catching your breath you could only stare at the obsidian tendril. It looked weak.

“I take back what I said last night,” you narrowed your eyebrows, biting onto your bottom lip as you shoved your soul within your chest, “you are a bastard-!”

Throwing the sheets off of your body you jumped out of bed, scrambling to get dressed as your cat lightly chirped, watching you through sleepy eyes as you shuffled around as quickly as you could.

It wasn’t much longer before there was a knocking at the door, you didn’t even bother to do your hair or make up as you flung open the front door and were swept into a tight hug. Jenny surprised you, she was literally still in her pajamas, her hair an equal mess as she sighed and held you in a vice, “oh my god.. oh my god… I’ve been so worried..”

The tremble in her voice made you frown, hugging her back you nodded and swallowed dryly, “I’m okay, Jen- Jenny-” you tried, having to push her away to look her in the eyes, which were reddened and wide, “This is really important, my appointment is for tonight but we can’t wait any longer, he’s-”

Her gaze drifted towards your neck, your voice trailing off as she murmured, “it’s so faded..”

Nodding, desperate, you couldn’t help but to shake her shoulders and begged her, “we need to go. I don’t know why, but he’s reversed the effect-” she looked at you once more, her expression totally confused. You couldn’t be patient with this, and bit at her without meaning to, “-he’s giving me the last bit of his magic, if it disappears we can’t bring him back- Jen-!”

“Okay, okay-” she swallowed, nodding quickly as your pleas struck her like a cold blade. She tightened her grip against your biceps, reassuring your panic, “I left breakfast in the car anyways, on accident, can I borrow some clothes-?”

Nodding you both hustled to your bedroom, the front door wide open for the both of you to fly out of it within minutes. Your feet moved with a rush you hadn’t felt in so long, your lungs aflame as you bolted down the long staircase, your friend on your heels as she barked directions to her white sedan. The paint had been chipped off around the wheels, but it was a detail lost on you as the doors slammed shut and engine revved.

***

What Jenny considered ‘breakfast’ was lukewarm, black coffee and a shared poppy seed muffin. Even with your heart racing, nervousness making your legs restless, you ate quickly and even gouged a bit into Jenny’s portion but she didn’t seem to mind. She was too focused on the road anyways, the trip was longer than you would have liked.

You hadn’t taken the front door before into the facility, and luckily the front desk recognized you, and Jenny. Your friend led you to the elevator and you both rushed inside, she hit the lowest level, below ground. While the machine whirred and dropped you both into the depths, you felt her hand lightly rest on your shoulder, grabbing your panicked attention as she murmured.

“It’s okay.. we’re here now, nothing bad is going to happen.”

You could only nod, doing a poor job of faking a smile before you turned back to the door while biting onto your bottom lip. When those double doors slid open you didn’t even hesitate, throwing yourself through them into the lobby with your eyes wide. There wasn’t much traffic in here, but there was chaos occurring in the wards, you didn’t have to ask to know why as a loud shattering rang out.

More fallen were passing.

The noise startled Jenny, making her gasp and halt but you just left her behind. Sprinting down the opposing hallway towards the lich’s office. You heard her behind you, shouting your name, but you couldn’t stop. The metal doors lining the hall blew past you in a blur, your eyes focused on the double doors before you, drawing closer and closer.

Thrusting your hands outward you slammed into a door, breaking through it to stumble inwards. Your wild gaze fell onto the scene before you, Claire at the machine against the wall, with Sans and the King in front of the large desk across the room.

You must have startled the woman right out of her wits as she adjusted her glasses, mouth agape. Panting you hurried forward towards the center of the room and stopped, staring upwards at the large monster before you who wore his official regalia. The king went to open his mouth, but you abruptly cut him off, “need… t-to do this- _now!_ ”

He was taken back, blinking rapidly and lifted a large, clawed hand to settle you down, “what are you doing here..?”

Desperately, you tore your gaze from him and locked in on the blank sockets of the skeleton beside him. There was no time to sit and hash details. Metal rang out across the room as Jenny burst through the door behind you, much more eloquent, as she ensured to close the door behind her.

“S-sans..” you heaved, when his features didn’t change you growled and reached towards your chest, grabbing onto your soul with some difficulty. You didn’t even notice the stoat scamper up beside you as Asgore carefully asked, again.

“Sun.. What are you doing here..? It is much too early to-”

He was silenced as you pulled your soul forth, the golden, shimmering surface leagues better than it had been the other night.. and even from just the half hour drive over here. The skeleton studied you a moment before his socket’s went wide. He noticed, the black mark had nearly dissolved.

Claire carefully set her fingers on your arm, murmuring, “Sun.. it’s okay, we know.. we have plans to do this later-”

“No, we can’t wait-!” you stammered, your jaw tight and hurting as you looked towards her but the machine at her back is what grabbed your attention. Your features softened as you saw the vat his soul resided in. The surface of the acrylic was webbed in fractures, only adding fuel to your upset. The dim, white light behind all those cracks struggled to break through, obscured.

Asgore tried again, taking a careful step forward as he spoke, “I know you are anxious about this procedure-”

Your friend stumbled up to your side, breathing, “please, she says this is really important-”

“-his magic is dissipating..” Sans murmured, Jenny staring at him slack jawed.

Claire removed her hand from your shoulder, gaining your attention with her large, black eyes trailing to your soul, squinting at its form. The room was silent, as the monsters processed what they saw. The skeleton was the first one to speak, calling your focus as your panicked expression met his tired, white eyes, “but, we already knew that.”

“W-what..?” you whispered, not left hanging for long as Claire then spoke, her breath soft.

“I’m so sorry, Sun..” turning your head to her, you felt tears well in your eyes while you locked in on her solemn expression, “he’s.. he’s going grey.”

“No,” you said. It was a statement, a tightness wringing in your gut as Jenny gasped and shot her gaze across the monsters in the room as she pleaded.

“B-but if we hurry, it should be okay, right?!”

The king gently set his hand on your friend’s shoulder, bowing his head as he spoke gently, “if he had started to let go.. perhaps, we should respect that decision-”

A tear slipped from your eyes, whirling around to bark at Asgore as he met your gaze with sorrow- but Sans cut in as he stepped forward, “we have one of two options..” he paused, making sure you were looking at him before he continued, “we remove the magic, with a ninety percent chance of having it turn to dust..”

Your teeth gouged the inside of your cheek, the taste of copper mingling with the soft quivering of your lips as he went on, “or.. we don’t, and you get further healed by whatever he has left.. which, would be by the end of the day-”

“No,” you choked out, blinking through the haze obscuring your vision.

The skeleton sighed, keeping eye contact with you as the stoat at your side shot a glare to Sans, she snarled, “any chance is a chance we should take, how could you be so cold to her like that?!”

“she deserves to know the truth- right?” he shot back, flicking his white pupils over to her while Asgore removed his hand from Jenny and stood straight.

“It is your body, Sun..” he recited, you slowly turned to look upwards at him. His horns shimmering against the luminescent light above, his stance was authoritative, yet.. reassuring as he continued, “which means, it is your choice..”

“Yes, right now.” You stated, leaving your soul floating before your chest as you stood confidently, though Sans broke through again as he breathed.

“we don’t have any anesthetic-“

“That’s fine-” you growled, your fingers balling into fists.

The stoat tightened her grip on your bicep, “maybe you should take a moment, there is a large risk that this will not work-“

Shaking your head, you ripped away from her and stormed through the group, straight towards Sans who widened his sockets, blinking at you as you muttered, “I’ve already done this once before, _do it._ ”

The both of you stared at each other for a moment, the room falling silent. Eventually, slowly, he nodded.

 

You were instructed to lay down on the lich’s desk as Asgore whisked Jenny from the room, gently speaking to her as the doors shut behind them. It was Claire and Sans who hovered over you, the stoat held your hand as the skeleton focused in on your soul and slowly lifted his hand. Stretching his bony digits outward, a soft blue hue began to trickle outward in an ethereal aura.

“this may hurt..” he murmured, you just closed your eyes and nodded. You were ready. The stoat set her hand atop of yours, doing little to ease the rapid pounding of your heart.

Suddenly, you felt a pressure. It made you wince, just an instant reaction as a soft blue glow began to wrap around the black tendril resting upon your soul. Starting in your ribcage the heavy weight spread to your lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Not wanting to startle anyone you kept a calm outer appearance, slowly breathing in and out.

Sans let his hand come down a tad closer, hovering just above the surface of your shimmering soul as a royal blue tone coated and wove around the black magic resting upon it. Sweat began to build up on his skull as he prepared himself, so good so far.. but he knew the lich.. and he wasn’t going to like this next part.

He flicked his white eyes up into the stoat’s, her nose twitching, sending shivers down her whiskers as she nodded. Slowly, he dropped his attention back down and with the light pull upwards of his wrist, you gasped. It felt as if someone was trying to pull your sternum from your ribcage, and while the skeleton was easing the process at a careful pace, it became hard to conceal the discomfort.

Your back began to arch, clenching your teeth as the black, now writhing tendril angrily tried to keep hold. Sans canines began to divot, an equal pressure trying to stab into his joints but he ignored it. This was one fight he wouldn’t lose. Without meaning to his fingers jolted upwards, drawing a choked cry from your throat, your spine twisting and back arching off of the desk while the magic was slowly torn from the surface of your soul.

The palm of your hand, and side of your neck instantly flared. Clutching to the stoat a pained, subtle sob hitched through your lungs while San’s socket’s went black. Focused on his work he didn’t notice how the soul in the vat began to shudder, the fragments of the acrylic slowly grinding together.

Luckily, the lich was weak, he wouldn’t be able to hold on forever. Sans pulled at the magic, just enough, for it to slowly release, sticky, gooey tendrils still clinging to the surface the farther he managed to pull the tendril. You writhed, pained and uncomfortably hot, that heavy pressure was now stabbing, like having a heavy stone being driven into your chest.

You could feel your bones creaking, yet you just shut your mouth tightly. Your teeth clacking together, ringing out across the room as the skeleton growled, his fingertips gripping downward with determination. Holding on, refusing to release, the lich within the vat began to tremble. The dark magic, coated in glimmering blue, started to churn within itself.

Sans grunted, his sockets narrowing as he suddenly, angrily, clutched at the air down at your soul, tightening his hold on the lich’s dark energy. Instantaneously, the machine against the wall shuddered violently, a deep, reverberating bassline tremoring through the room and shook the table beneath you. The harsh vibrations added to your discomfort, gouging into your spine as Claire gasped and hunched above you with an intense wince of pain.

It was as if angry, clawed hands were stretching outward, digging into the monster’s magic, groping for their souls.

“g-go..” Sans panted, his sockets still dark as he gathered his magic. The stoat tried to shake her head, her eyes shut tightly but the skeleton just snarled, “i said, go-!”

“I’m okay-” she tried, your grip on her hand nearly crushing as you whimpered and squirmed beneath the both of them. Hot iron flooded your veins, drawing your jaws to open as a choked sob slipped from your chest. Your bones, your bones felt like they were pulling apart at the joints.

The stoat didn’t expect to get shoved, the skeleton using his free hand to throw her aside. Your hand was torn from her grasp as she stumbled and sneered, her neck bristling as the skeleton shot her a malicious snarl. Blue energy suddenly sparked within his left socket, a yellow ring pulsing in the center as he commanded, “leave! He may try to grab onto any magic he can, that’s why it hurts being in here- get out-!”

“B-but-!” she tried, taking a step forward before a low groan shook the machine against the wall behind her. Further cracks split the surface of the vat, crackling, hissing. Sans had run out patience, he tossed his free hand outward and flung his wrist. Snagging her soul, the stoat was thrown across the room to the doors, her feet scrambling against the polished, cold surface.

The black tendril upon your golden energy began to boil, bubbling and stretching the blue magic encasing it. A loud bang echoed through the room as Sans glared over his shoulder, thrusting the stoat through the newly opened doors and slammed them shut behind her. The locks engaged as she stumbled and fell to the ground, her red frames clattering across the floor as she caught herself on her hands and knees. The pulses of angry, foreboding energy wracked through the corridor in an equal intensity, but the sharp, knife point held at her soul had been alleviated.

Footsteps rang out through the hallway, but her blurry vision wouldn’t focus in on the multiple bodies running towards her.

A scream rang through the room, tearing through your throat as your legs kicked outward, writhing on the table. Sans struggled to remain in control, sweat pouring down his porcelain face as he slowly began to peel the tendril from you. Trickles of red pulled his gaze to your neck, his sockets narrowing further as he bared his fully formed fangs and snarled. While pulling the lich’s magic from you, it also unsealed the wounds in your flesh. The bite mark having been upon your neck was now a slowly sinking, fresh, wound.

He felt dizzy, light headed and his bones were aching from his very core beneath the pressure of the lich’s wrath. Sans could hear the machine, beeping, buzzing and tremoring, but he had to hold focus on his hand, and the magic he was tearing from you.

Growls, deep, and unholy, began to radiate into the room. Digging into both of your souls, squirming like maggots in your marrow and truly began to draw upon an obscene pain into your body. You were crying out, without realizing it, shaking and scrambling against the hard wood sweat poured down your flushed skin. It was hot, it was absolutely _sweltering._ Acid was coursing in your veins, singing and burning all of your soft tissues.

The black vein was hardly attached now. Sans nearly had it, the magic in his grasp attempted to slip free but he wouldn’t let it. Even as it grew in size, lashing outward and churning violently he managed to stay in control. Snarling, determined, he growled a low, “come on, you bastard- let. GO!”

With a final, aggressive jerk of his hand the black tendril was yanked from your soul. Your back arched, eyes rolling into the back of your skull as a violent shudder rang through your form. You felt numb, shivering, shaking and descending from the intense pain that was suddenly snapped from your body. Hot, slick trickles of crimson ran over the side of your neck and dripped from your palm, coating the desk beneath you in beautiful droplets.

As you lay, disoriented, dizzy and gasping for air, you had no idea what was happening. The world was so far away, even the Earth groaned, quaking with a distant thundering roll.

The skeleton held up both hands to the black magic hovering above you, sneering and spitting as he struggled to keep it off of your chest. The small vein had now severely grown in size, stretching, tossing and turning within itself. This magic.. thrashing, malicious and.. evil. He couldn’t hold it.

Glass suddenly, loudly, shattered. Fragments of acrylic were sprayed into the air from the explosion of the machine, pattering across the ground as the lich’s soul burst with a bright light in Sans’ peripheral vision. He let out a cry, throwing both hands to the side, towards the machine just as the broken soul within was drawn to the black ooze held in suspension.

Once the two bodies met, the skeleton’s magic was shattered. A shockwave pulsed outward across the room, taking your breath away as you twisted onto your side, curling into a ball with your arms above your head. Sans coughed, his magic bursting from his socket in a burst of blue light. The sparks of blue trickled through the air as the black mass dropped to the floor, by the machine, folded and stretching upwards to only fall within itself once more.

Sans felt as if gravity was sucking him towards that darkness, calling to him.. He refused. With a pained snarl he fell over top of you, his bony digits grabbing onto your form as he pulled you from the table, toppling the both of you to the ground as he wheezed and hacked. Pressed between the skeleton, the side of the desk, and the floor you couldn’t see or comprehend what was happening. But you could hear it.

Livid, painful, snarling. It echoed and warbled, distant and like an echo tremoring through the air. There was a pounding sound, hard against metal.. the doors, but they wouldn’t open.

The black mass suddenly thrusted upwards, cascading ribbons of thick, sludge as sharp tendrils began to intertwine and form a contorted, black, skeletal figure. First came the spine, stretching, bending and weaving as a guttural growl tore through the effervescent muck. Then it’s limbs, twisted, broken and unnatural before the skull then formed, it’s jaws open wide into a silent screech which slowly broke into reality.

The shriek was unlike anything you had ever heard, it forced your soul deep within your body, weighed down as if being held leagues under the sea. It ebbed and waned, like the waves of the sea, before slowly fading. Further, dark goo spun upwards from the churning, confused puddle on the floor. Wrapping ribbons, tendons, across the structure it had formed as the creature bent and snarled viciously.

Sans let out a gasp, further blue, translucent sick trickled from between his teeth and from his sockets as he lay sprawled above you, trying to keep you protected while kinetic energy pounded into his form. Gouging, tearing and ripping at his soul. With no other option you huddled into a tighter ball, closing your eyes as a strain of whimpers left your throat.

Disgusting, wet, slick noises gushed and trickled through the room but they soon gave way to dry, ill wheezing. Coated in static. The black mass on the floor was draining, feeding upwards into the stumbling, hunched figure who slowly began to fade from obsidian into a stark white. Gouges of black stained it’s hide as the porcelain tone wrapped and spun across it’s form upwards along it’s spine, until finally curling around it’s strong, thick neck.

The white strips weaved across the sharp features of the figure’s skull, the black energy on the floor fully absorbing upwards into the powerful, strained haunches of the monster to end in the sharp, knuckled toes of the lich.

He gasped, his sockets wide and empty before he came crashing to the floor, in a heap. Landing on his hands and knees, one hand grasping at the massive scar in his chest he hacked and dry heaved into the floor. The immense pressure in the room gave, flickering before suddenly snapping free.

Instantly Sans sighed, a deep, final breath of consciousness. You could hear your heavy panting rattle your chest, tear at your sore throat.. it drove the edge of a knife into the forming headache in your skull. Despite your pain, you pushed into Sans chest, and he rolled from you with no resistance, his sockets closed and body limp.

You carefully panned over the skeleton’s expression, he looked exhausted as he laid against the ground on his back. The double doors slammed open, just as your eyes fell upon the contorted, white and black figure shaking and wheezing on his knees and propped elbow. The King strode into the scene with a red, glimmering trident in his hands. His eyes were wide, and brows furrowed into a stern glare as he took in the room with Claire and Jenny falling in line beside him.

Sitting up more fully your attention snapped up to the king, but quickly pulled across the room at the sound of horrendous, desperate hacking. The king lowered his weapon, his features easing as all but Sans focused in on the jagged, twisting and sharp spine of the lich as he shook like a leaf against the floor. Dipping his brow to the smooth, cold surface of the concrete beneath him while the cold air embraced his heated, naked body.

His name left your lips, soft and nearly a whisper while you scrambled onto your feet. Drawn to him you stumbled, tripped and fell beside him. Your knees hit the floor hard, landing a hand on his pointed, rocking shoulder blade and gazed, wide eyed, at his pained, half hidden expression. His jaws were wide open, coated in spit with his gums bared in a feral, silent snarl.

The elbow he had propped himself on slid out from under him, his body crashing to the floor on his side as a hot burst of air tore from his lungs in a painful, cry. Static buzzed and sparked against his fangs, your hand having slipped around from his back onto the side of his straining ribs. Even though his eyes were closed, and he tremored against the floor, your face lit up into a desperate bliss.

Tears began to pour down your face as you shuffled closer to him, dropping onto the side of your hip as you hovered above him. His legs were squirming, his toes splayed and gouging at the floor as he turned further onto his back, still clutching his chest. Arching his back in pain, heaving and gasping for air you lingered above him and brought your free hand up to the side of his face. Your lips were moving, words of reassurance slipping through, but not even you could truly understand what you were saying. The sight of him, real.. and alive, was too much to process.

His nakedness was lost on you, but not on the other individuals in the room who respectfully averted their gazes. The red trident in the king’s grasp fizzled from his hands as he cleared his throat, giving instructions to the stoat behind you as Sans stirred and pulled himself up from the floor. He groaned as he sat up, bringing a hand to his aching head while focusing on the both of you across the room. Stunned.

It worked.

Slowly, the lich opened his eyes, squinting and blinking at the bright lights above him, not being able to see you at first. Your fingertips ran over the side of his cheek and jawbone, gazing so sweetly at him with your mouth open and panting, “G..? G, can you hear me..?”

His white, piercing gaze fell to the side, towards you, it took him a moment to catch his breath and focus his vision. Still gasping, uncomfortable and exhausted your features came into his consciousness. The slightest, quick, tug of the corners of his mouth made you release a deep puff of air, a whimper riding on it as you wrapped your arms around him, falling forward to lay across his chest with your face buried into his neck.

Wild, uncontrollable sobs broke through your sore, aching body. The heated, heavy lift and fall of the monster’s chest was like music to your ears. He suddenly dropped a quaking hand onto your back, his vocal chords strumming against your face in a dark, echoing warble. It was short, and broke from a wheeze, turning into a wicked coughing.

Gripping tighter to him you commanded him, “Stop.. it’s okay, just relax.. It’s all okay, now.. It’s _okay_.”

You weren’t just saying this to him, and you knew it.

Holding onto him, listening to him slowly regain his breathing and unwind his tense muscles felt like a dream. This was too surreal, it had to be a dream. But as a heavy, deep breath pushed from his lungs and his body fell limp your heart spiked in your chest. Quickly pulling away, you blinked through your tears as his head rolled limply to the side, his sockets closed and mouth open.

You were then screaming, the world fading from the lich’s mind as darkness piled onto his aching, shaking body.

***

Gentle voices murmured and whispered around him, stirring him from the depths. A breath left his jaws as he furrowed his brows, lightly rolling his head to the side as he felt soft pin pricks upon his arm. Unwilling to open his eyes just yet, he listened, taking his time to soak in the sensations around him.

A cool, thin sheet was draped over him, yet his arms were above it, palms facing the ceiling. Carefully, he moved his fingertips, the feeling of motion comforting as he inhaled deeply. Filling his sore lungs with air, he held for a few seconds before releasing. The voices that had woken him were distant, possibly cut off through a wall..

Cracking his sockets open, he blinked rapidly. Being met with a bright, white light. It took him a moment for things to fade into focus, a gentle grunt pressing through his throat. A figure suddenly slid into his field of vision, red frames resting upon its face.

“Doctor..? Can you hear me..?”

The stoat.

He turned his face away from her, his neck trembling as he gave another, sharp grunt. Gathering that he was lying in a medical bed, he began to flex his muscles, shifting through the immense, hot pain searing through his bones. His discomfort must have transferred to his features as he winced, staring at the other end of the room towards the doorway.

“Please, be still..” she chided, resting a warm hand on his forearm while leaning over him, trying to gather his attention.

 _‘Be quiet,’_ he murmured, raspy and sore, his throat gave to a soft coughing. The voices in the hall suddenly stopped, his brows narrowing towards the blurry doorframe just before a lithe figure burst into the room. It paused, for a moment, as he blinked rapidly and inhaled again, attempting to shift on the mattress but the stoat just added further pressure to his forearm and growled.

“You need to stop moving around-”

The figure then came towards him, a whimper slipping into the room and he instantly recognized it.

You bolted up beside the bed, leaning down over him as you stared into his adjusting, dim, eyes. Gripping high up onto his bicep, your fingers digging into his tattered flesh you murmured, “welcome back.. you fucking horrible, egotistical, vigilante bastard..”

A light tug pulled at the corner of his lips, finally being able to focus in on your features. He exhaled softly, slipping his tongue against the roof of his dry palate before murmuring. His voice was deep, graveled and held a tremoring echo.. yet, his words were lost on you.

Biting onto your bottom lip you just smiled, blinking through the tears as he tried to lift his opposite hand. The muscles in his arm quivered, pulling and shaking tremendously before Claire firmly shoved his wrist back to the sheets. This tore his gaze from you, back to the other side as a growl wove through his chest, the white sheet above him lightly vibrating.

The stoat met his irate expression with one of her own, her eyes scrunching into a glare as she put on her tough guy act, “No. Stop trying to move around, it costs too much energy and thus, magic. You shouldn’t even be conscious, don’t push it.”

His gaze fell from her black, beady eyes and to his arm, where a rather large IV was stuck into the crook of his elbow. The lich’s brows furrowed, becoming more agitated as he went to lift his opposite hand, focusing in on the metal glinting against the soft grey tone of his skin.

“G,” you sighed, pressing your hand into his wrist while keeping hold of his bicep, it was.. pathetic, how easy it was to hold him down.

The monster released another growl, deeper and soaked in the light fizzle of static. He focused his annoyance in on the stoat who held his gaze with an equal scowl. The lich was so tuned into his new adversary he didn’t notice you bending down towards him, until your soft lips brushed against his cheek with a gentle kiss.

This sent a rough exhale through his throat, stilling his rebellion as he turned carefully back towards you. The words left your lips gently, brushing against his own, “relax, please..”

Claire removed her hand slowly from the lich, turning to add another medicine into his IV drip while you kept him distracted with your eyes. Smiling downward to him you weren’t expecting the monster to move so quickly, his chin tilting upward as his neck strained from the pillow supporting his head. Soft trembles coursed through his spine as he held himself barely off of the mattress, his lips meeting yours with tenderness.

A breath pressed through your nostrils as you pressed him back down, nudging your head downward to lead him back as you held the kiss with him. Breaking away softly, the lightest sound of the kiss fed through his skull and he instinctively opened his mouth. His fangs glimmering while the tip of his black, dry tongue flicked across your bottom lip.

“Welcome back, Doctor Gaster..” the deep, gentle voice of the king pronounced.

You quickly pulled up from him, a blush drawing into your features as you turned to look behind you. Though, the lich kept his gaze on you, his eyes falling to the side of your neck where a bandage lay wrapped. Strange, the stab wound should have healed by now.. from however long he was gone.

Asgore took a few steps inward, smiling as Claire went about her business beside the lich, focused on her hands.

“You’ve made history.. a few times, now.” He began, drawing the scientist’s attention as he stared blankly at the king, “it is.. something more than a miracle. Please, take proper time to recover. We will have a more.. detailed discussion then.”

The lich simply swiped his tongue along the inside of his mouth, swallowing dryly as a cold solution was bled into his arm through the IV. You watched as the king nodded his head towards the both of you before leaving the room, for a rather large monster he was graceful. Once he left, you turned back to Gaster and carefully sat down on the side of the bed.

The scientist felt heavy, his muscles stiff and weak. The newly administered medicine cooled these pains, while he stared upwards at you with clear exhaustion. Carefully, you brought your hand up to the side of his face, affectionately caressing his cheek with your thumb, murmuring, “It’s okay to sleep, I’ll be right here..”

He snorted, not wanting to fall into complacency. Yet, his sockets closed regardless, falling still as you settled in beside him. Stroking along the side of his neck to keep him relaxed while he faded from consciousness once more.

While the lich slept, you stayed by his side. Lightly chatting with Claire as she moved in and out of the room. You hadn’t seen Sans since he had to help lift the lich from the floor with his magic, Gaster was too large, too heavy, to truly handle without it. It had been interesting, you were so focused on his face, on holding his hand as they hooked him up to the IV, that you hadn’t noticed how the others took in the damage on his hide.

His scars were something you were used to, but to them.. the full extent of his injuries in the war, and the warehouse, were showcased. Only Claire and yourself had been unaffected by his nakedness, though the others had shied away from him, even with the sheet tucked over his body. The harsh, deep scars in his flesh could still be faintly made out beneath the linen, but there wasn’t much to be done about that.

He only slept for a few more hours, as if it was his mission to be the worst patient in existence. Not either you or Claire could understand him whenever he quipped his irritance, so he quickly learned speech was not the way to go about communicating. The lich struggled to summon his moths, to use any magic, but found the abilities were still out of reach. He became frustrated, unsettled at his vulnerable state.

It was the fourth time he tried to remove the IV in his arm before Claire smacked his hand away with a snort, “I get you are frustrated, but your constant disobedience is not going to make this go by faster for anyone.”

He gave her a glare as you sighed, palming your face to hide the gentle smile tugging at your lips. You were still sore and achy yourself, but just being beside him.. was peaceful. Despite his obnoxious behavior.

The lich was growing beyond irritated at the stoat, he needed to be rid of her. A thought entered his mind, his features relaxing as he twisted his spine subtly. Rolling his hips as he pulled his knee upwards at an angle, her eyes instantly dropped to see his leg lift out from under the sheet, draping the cloth just over his groin. Her neck and cheeks instantly bristled, quickly averting her gaze to glare ever harder at the lich’s smug expression.

You lowered your hand from your face, just in time to notice the way the lich presented himself, a flush of your own crossing your cheeks as you scowled down towards him, your lips twitching in an attempt to hold back a grin, “G.. seriously?”

He flicked his white eyes to your own, much brighter in appearance than earlier today. Claire let out a deep sigh, “okay, I will be back in a bit.. Sun-” you looked towards her, missing how the lich continued to stare at you beneath a half lidded expression, “-please, make sure he stays on that IV.”

You nodded, watching her smooth her fur back down with a hand, adjusting her red frames with the other before she slipped away, out of the room. The door gently clicked behind her, just as you felt the gentle touch of rough fingertips against your arm. Turning back to the lich you found him beginning to sit up, his quaking hand lifting along the side of your arm with a sultry gaze pulling you in.

“G, come on..” you sighed, placing your hand into his chest, pushing him back down as he growled, “you’re still really hurt..”

He didn’t seem to agree, taking you off guard with how quickly his hand slipped up your side, pulling you down to him. Unable to help it, a light laugh broke through your lips, holding yourself up with your forearms propped on his chest. You felt him move his raised leg around, the slight tremors working up through his spine from his shakiness.

Staring down at him, your expression softened, feeling tears well up in your eyes. You tried to blink them away, yet your quivering lips had the lich slightly tilt his head. He was shaking again, lifting his arm up to place his hand against your face as a puff of air left your lips, a slight whimper trailing through your throat.

“You’re really here..” you whispered, unable to help the droplets slipping from your eyes, catching on his knuckled thumb while he held you. Before you could say anymore, he slipped his hand around to the back of your head, letting the weight of his arm pull you downward.

The lich tucked his other arm up around your back, your face smothered into his neck as quiet, gentle sobs worked through your lungs. Turning his head, he rested the side of his jaw against your skull, closing his eyes and inhaled. Your scent filled his jaws, the warmth of your bodies mingling together while your statement processed in his mind.

He didn’t know how long he was gone for, when he had asked.. they couldn’t understand him. The way his body shook, his hands especially, would make it difficult to sign if at all. A deep, frustrated sigh washed through his lungs as he held you close, comforting you in the only way he knew how. He would comply.. for now.. until his magic returned enough to where he could summon his moths.

Possibly, within the next few hours.

If he had to lay here longer than that, he would go absolutely mad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lich daddy is back! Woot!  
> -bangs pots and pans- THE ANGST IS OVER EVERYBODY, TIME TO REJOICE.
> 
> Next chapter is halfway through, I just know you guys have been waiting for this for awhile, so enjoy!


	27. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You deal with a very ornery, and rebellious, lich.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait you guys, enjoy!

Gaster had behaved relatively well, just the two of you. Until another hour had passed, and he began to sit up with you still lying across his chest.

“G,” you sighed, pressing your palms into his shoulders to try to get him to lie down. He just snorted, furrowing his brows as he lifted you regardless. Harsh trembling coursed through his spine as he righted himself, a light pant breaking through his lips as he trailed his gaze across the room curiously.

Pulling away from him, you folded your arms across your chest and sighed, drumming your fingers against your bicep, “you won’t get better if you push yourself..”

He gave you an odd glance, bringing a hand up to his neck to lightly scratch at the edge of his massive scar. You couldn’t help but to smile a tad sheepishly, shrugging your shoulders, “this is different.. you actually _died,_ you prick.”

The lich grumbled, static whistling through his jaws while he turned his gaze downward towards his arm, eyeing the IV still wedged inside of his thick hide. Dropping his raised hand towards the tool you growled and tried to grab onto his wrist, but he ignored you, the shaking of his limb coursed up through your own as he gripped onto the needle and withdrew it from his flesh.

“Ugh, G.. what the hell are you doing-?”

Flicking the IV off the side of the bed he panned his white eyes into your own for a moment, his features bored and stoic, even though his hide and digits tremored and twitched. Your gaze hardened, turning serious as you spoke, “you are the worst patient in existence..”

A light smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, his gaze falling to your neck again. He lifted his hand, drawing his claws towards the bandages and carefully hooked a raised edge of the tape, drawing the cloth back. His sockets twitched at what he was seeing, scabbing, crimson wounds laying bare beneath the wrapping. Where his mark had been.

“We removed your magic..” you murmured, watching his facial expression as it became hardened again, “it was how we brought you back..”

All of it. They had removed.. _all of it._ His jaws began to grind together slowly, thinking to himself. It would only take a lunge forward, tearing the bandage away to smear his magic back within those wounds. Then you could understand him, he would feel your energy once more..

His eyes trailed back up into your own, your expression was wary, but he saw how deeply the discoloration ran beneath your eyes. You were exhausted as well, drained, already. Slowly, he folded the cloth back down over the wounds, pressing the tape back to your skin as you watched him behind the rapid flicking of your eyelids.

“It doesn’t really.. hurt all that much..” you murmured as he took his hand back and rested it on his lap, his shoulders hunching while he kept eye contact with you.

“Kind of sucks not to be able to understand you though..” you added, forcing a gentle smile while he remained relatively still, body tremors still reverberated through his body as he sat, and listened.

Studying him, it was easy to know he wanted you to go on. Drawing in a breath you slowly let it out and went on, “I know you want more information from me.. but.. I’m not too sure what day it is either, or how long.. it was..”

He watched as you trailed off, your gaze dropping as those emotions boiled back to the surface.. helplessness, guilt.. self loathing.. anger. Suddenly, you jerked your gaze back up into his eyes and leaned forward, growling, “what were you thinking-?!”

The lich blinked, taken back by your sudden outburst while tears welled in your tender eyes once more, “why would you do that-?! Why would you just-” snarling, you struck out at his arm, smacking his bicep as he snorted, “-get yourself into something like that- _leave me like that?!_ ”

He quickly grabbed onto your wrist, jerking you towards him as you struggled and snarled, “you can’t just-” the lich wrapped his arms around you, keeping you tucked against his chest, no matter how hard you fought or how loud your voice became, “-say something like _that,_ and then leave!”

A sob broke from your lips, your struggles waning as a shudder wove through your spine, “you fucking.. asshole.”

Your words weighed heavy on him, the monster tilted his head to the side to rest his sharp jawline atop of your skull. The shakes and shudders in his body did little to soothe your worry, and upset, “I.. I fucking- god damnit..”

Gently, the lich hummed, his vocal chords strumming against your face. It gave you just enough confidence, to shut your eyes and blurt, “I love you too, G.. I missed you so much- I _lost_ you..”

He replied, soft, raspy and short. The warble of his voice was soothing as you melted in his arms, tears trickling down your face while you wrapped your arms up around his neck. It hurt to not understand him, to not hear him fully.. but the fact that he held you so strongly, even through the quaking of his flesh, soothed your boiling blood to a simmer.

Clearing your throat, laying against his chest, you murmured, “please, take care of yourself.. don’t push it.. there was, so little left of your magic. Sans thought.. he thought it would just, turn to dust.”

The lich exhaled, stirring a few locks of hair on your head before he slowly began to rub the side of his jaw along your skull. Affectionate, tender and with a soft rumble of his chest, a smile cracked on your lips. Nuzzling into his neck, you inhaled, his earthy, masculine scent flooded your senses and unfurled your tense muscles. With your motions, came a light, warbling hitch in the monster’s chest. The noise sprung outwards, riding on his breathing in a rolling, beating, fluctuation.

“Are you.. purring, G?” you were unable to see the slight smile tugging at his lips as he continued to stroke the side of his face against your head. Smearing his scent through your soft locks of hair, running his black tongue along the inside of his jaws, trying to well moisture but it was a slow build. He truly was low on magic.. perhaps he should have kept the IV in.

***

The messy, disheveled apartment was a saving grace that was running out of its sanctity. A bluish light shimmered into the living room from the television, quietly trickling into the room as the broadcast went on.

_‘More is underway with the warehouse massacre off of 31 st street. The Royal Scientist, Doctor W.D. Gaster is still missing but further information has been released by detectives. It appears there was a homicide plot conducted by a few individuals, and while we know that quite a few of these people were killed in the action, there are still those at large. If you have any information on the whereabouts of these individuals, please contact the number listed below-’_

Jake wrung his hands together, dirtied and shaking. He hadn’t understood why the news refused to announce the Royal Scientist’s death, the one he had conducted with his own hands. The image of himself on the screen did little to settle his stomach, it wasn’t supposed to end this way. It was obvious the detectives had the tapes, they saw the monster for what it was.. a Lich. An unholy abomination that could raise the dead, and even dismembered.

The couple hundred bucks he had withdrawn was dwindling, his credit cards were cut, he couldn’t go home from the stake out snooping around his own apartment. The last bastion he had was Jared’s apartment, and the thought pulled his hands to his face. He had spent many nights over here, laughing and drinking with his close friend.. and now he was gone.

“I’m so sorry, man..” he whined, his throat sore and scalding. He wouldn’t even be able to pay his respects today, the funeral was being held just a few blocks away.. and every fibre of his being ached with the need for Justice, even with the monster dead.

 _‘There will be more to report Thursday-’_ the man lifted his gaze from his hands, studying the screen, _‘-we here at Channel 7 have been alerted to a large debriefing with city council, and the royal family. We aren’t sure what to prepare for, but I believe it may be news about the elusive Doctor W.D. Gaster.’_

The words rang around in his skull, his fingertips twitching against his face while the news anchor lightly bantered and tried to predict what this meeting would be about. Jake knew, he knew deep down in his soul.. Somehow.. Somehow, it was alive.

He hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath until dizziness set in, and his face dropped back into his hands. If this monster was able to raise the dead, could it possible.. resurrect itself? Surely, it could. It was immortal, vengeful.. Evil.

“I can’t stay here..” he murmured, jumping off of the couch with a sudden burst of purpose to begin packing, “I gotta get outta here.. _ffuck-_ ”

In his mind, he was running through the new plan he set for himself. He’d take Jared’s car, a few items to pawn from the apartment, get as much cash as possible and break for a one-way ticket out of the country. It was the only way, putting enough distance between this city and himself.

This wasn’t about revenge anymore, about civil duty.. it was about survival. It would take a few days, but his luck was untouchable, he would get out if he played his cards right. Yet, sweat began to bead down his forehead as he stuffed borrowed clothing into a trunk.

***

You couldn’t persuade the lich to lie back down, but at least he was content just sitting there as he gave Claire an off handed glare while she re-administered the IV. Blinking, sitting beside him on the edge of the bed, you noticed how the stoat had to really lean into the needle to drive it into his hide. Once it was in, she sighed and turned up the drip as the lich yawned. His fangs glistening in the light, Claire glanced over just in time to notice strings of spittle connecting his sharp teeth and let out a gentle breath of relief.

“Your magic is recovering at.. an astounding pace,” she spoke, yet Gaster didn’t find her interesting enough to pay her any mind as he flicked his gaze to the doorway, “I have to continue assisting Alphys with the wards.. but I’ll be back in a bit.”

You nodded to her, thanking her as she slipped around the bed and nearly ran into the skeleton, stepping into the room. She gave a sheepish apology while he just chuckled, glancing over his shoulder as she skittered into the hall, the door clicking shut behind her.

Swallowing lightly, you watched as he turned to face the both of you, his neutral grin still spread on his face as you asked, “what is going on out there..?”

“well,” he shrugged, taking a light step forward, perusing his focus over the equipment beside the massive monster hunched in the bed, “jen and asgore are distracting the detective-” the lich ground his jaws together, his annoyance growing while you just sighed.

“What does he want now?” you quipped but he just met your gaze, and lightly chuckled again.

“jus’ checkin’ in, apparently. actually-” he motioned with a hand towards the door, “probably would be a good idea to talk to him before he gets in.”

A gentle sigh left your lips, you knew he was right. The last thing you needed was Gaster getting flat out angry from all the attention, you gave the lich a glance and he merely just nodded, expressionless. Carefully, you slipped from the side of the bed, giving Sans a gentle smile before slipping out into the hall.

As the door clicked behind you the skeleton took shy steps forward, averting his gaze from the lich who stared at his approach. When he found himself beside the bed, hands in his jacket pockets, the shaky movements of the monster before him drew his focus upwards as Gaster signed with trembling motions.

_‘It was you who removed my mark?’_

Sans nodded, flicking his white pupils into the scientist’s blank expression, trying his best to ignore the lich’s nakedness, “had to.”

Slowly, Gaster began to sign again. The skeleton found it, unsettling, how weak the lich was. Despite his attempt at precision, his hand movements were sloppy with his claws twitching and convulsing intermittedly, _‘I understand.. did you do this alone?’_

The skeleton shrugged, “yea’.”

Gaster hummed softly, his hands pausing before his chest while his white eyes flicked over the skeleton. His silence further unnerved Sans, with a gentle sigh he turned away, blurting, “anyways, i should be goin’-”

Sans attempted to walk away, but the firm, shivering hand of the lich came down onto his shoulder. He froze, slowly turning to look over at the white, knuckled hand holding him in place. Gaster kept his hand there, for a moment, before letting it slip away back towards himself. The skeleton turned further, blinking at the monster who signed, _‘That is impressive..’_

While his hands may be trembling, a slight strain to his movements, the lich kept eye contact with the skeleton as he finished, _‘Thank you, Sans.’_

Gaster let his hands drop back into his lap, the subtle heave of his chest the only indication of his struggle while his son just stared at him. A tad wide eyed, and taken off guard, he stood in disbelief. He had never received a compliment from this monster, let alone such direct sincerity. In fact, he was so startled, it forced the lich to lift his hands once more to sign, _‘Do not be so startled, you do not need praise to know of your own prowess. You may try my patience, Sans-’_

The tremoring of his digits nearly began unbearable, the lich paused to shut his eyes and flex his hands into fists, holding them for a moment as his arms shook. Sans softened his expression, nervously rubbing his fingers together in his pockets while the scientist opened his eyes once more and continued more slowly.

 _‘But, you have done exceptionally well. Your creation may have been by my hand, but you control your destiny. This.. body, of mine.. has made me, more prone to violent intent.. and, cold. You, and your brother-’_ the skeleton drew in a breath, he had never heard him refer to them in such a way, _‘-are grown, now. I cannot alter our past, my sins may eternally rest upon my skin, but do not let doubt fester into your own.’_

The lich paused again, fighting his own body to obey him as he clenched his hands once more, the tremors slipping up to his shoulders and down his spine. Sans quickly pulled a hand from his jacket pocket, gesturing gently, “it’s okay..” he watched as the scientist settled his hands back into his lap, hunching further while his tired, white eyes locked onto his own, “i.. i know.”

Gaster nodded subtly, turning his gaze back to the door, as if expecting it to open soon. The skeleton pocketed his hand, following his gaze for a moment before turning back and murmured, “hey-” the lich flicked his eyes over towards him, “-good to, uh.. have ya back.”

Scrunching his brow the lich cast an odd look at the skeleton, who just lightly chuckled, shrugging, “who else would i have to annoy, besides you?”

A light, barely noticeably tug drew the scientist’s lips into a smirk. His arms were quivering, perhaps too annoyed with himself to sign anything in return but it wasn’t entirely needed. An odd, light, positivity was shared between them. If but for that moment, before the door opened.

Tentatively, you stepped back into the room. Meeting both of the monster’s gazes with a light smile, you made sure to close the door fully behind you before stepping back to the lich’s side. Gaster was staring at you, waiting, and with a gentle breath you met his eyes and murmured, “so.. they never announced that you had.. passed..” you began, Sans nodding absentmindedly, “just that there was an altercation, and you disappeared.. But, the city council, and Brigg’s team knows you’re a lich-”

Gaster’s eyes narrowed, and you met his scrutiny with a firm continuation, “-when you’re feeling better- and only, when you’re feeling better-” you paused, being sure to stare him directly in the eyes to drive your point home, even though he only gave you a blank look, “we are going to have a meeting, a small meeting, with a few officials. It sounds like they want to set up specific rules for you, G.. ” you sighed, loosening up your strict air, “and maybe that’s for the best.”

He didn’t respond, only continued to stare at you while Sans browsed the odd scene in front of him. While anyone else would feel awkward beneath the scientist’s hard glare, you seemed at home, even comfortable. The skeleton watched as you carefully sat on the edge of the bed, putting your hand on the lich’s exposed, tattered upper thigh, and smiled before you spoke up, “Briggs also says, Hello.”

The lich blinked at that, a light grunt leaving his throat which stirred a giggle within your chest. Sans contemplated for a moment, he was surprised by how summarized your briefing had been. In another time, possibly even a week ago, he would have kept his mouth shut and thoughts to himself. But now.. he found the words drawing forward, “they don’t want you to live in the city,” while the both of you turned, Sans kept his gaze on the lich, “and only want you part time here, in the research labs.”

He didn’t expect the lich to even respond, but he surprised him with a gentle, knowing nod. You expected rules to come after all of this, and while you weren’t entirely sure where the doctor would live, you figured the underground was always an option. The skeleton turned, looking towards the door but paused, glancing between the both of you as he softly spoke, “also.. uh, they were talkin’ of a mandatory… cremation law, but i’m not sure if that’s goin’ anywhere.”

You swallowed dryly, unknowingly gripping a tad tightly to Gaster’s leg, causing him to turn and look to you. He was stoic, and calm, but he could tell how you were nervous and uneasy. Miraculously, you managed to keep your nerve as you asked, “so.. they’re going to publicly announce what G is..?”

The skeleton slowly nodded, meeting your eyes beneath his half lidded expression. “the uh.. fight, was not very discrete. the whole city is talkin’ about it still.. national media, even. there was nothin’ we could do to keep it quiet.”

“How is that even going to play out..? I thought monsters were equally terrified of liches.” You blinked, staring directly into Sans’ eyes as he replied.

“we dunno, kid.”

“B-but won’t this just cause more people to try to hurt him-?” you spoke quickly, the skeleton just shrugged his shoulders while Gaster kept his gaze trained in on your worried expression as you rambled on, “I don’t think this is a good idea-”

“doesn’t matter now, we’re stuck in this mess..” you opened your mouth to continue, but a light chuckle broke the air as Sans widened his grin and breathed, “but, i guess we’re all in this mess together.”

His words stunned you, you never would have expected Sans to say anything of the sort. The skeleton’s grin twitched a tad, before he vanished. You sat there for a moment, before turning to look at Gaster who held a bored look on his face.

“What did you two talk about..?”

He replied with a slow blink, you smirked and playfully patted his leg, “don’t get too emotional on me, G.”

***

After a few more hours, and a frustrating attempt of having Gaster eat something, he grew tired of sitting. Against your wishes, and medical advisement, he threw off the thin sheets and stood from the bed. He was shaky, unsteady, and had to support himself on whatever was nearby such as the equipment or the wall. Every time you tried to touch him he just waved you away, clearly aggravated by his weak body.

Claire had stumbled into the room, witnessing the scene. But all she did was sigh, and immediately leave to gather the scientist’s spare clothes from his office. The wards were still bustling, and both the lich and yourself heard a few more fallen pass away. Light shatters rang out through the hall, while he stood braced against the wall and bowed his head to the cold, smooth surface.

Alphys must have still been caught up in the chaos, and you wondered if she had been briefed with what just happened. But, if Sans’ had disappeared, you figured he was helping tend to the fallen and the entire staff was possibly already up to speed.

The stoat soon returned, and Gaster just waved her off as he dressed himself in slacks with his thin, dark grey, zip up. It pained you to see him move to slowly, shaking and trembling deep to his core. You knew better than to try to keep him in bed, sedate. He wouldn’t listen to you anyways, it was best to just go along and keep an eye on him.

He said nothing, as he limped past you to the door. You opened it for him and carefully followed him out into the hallway. He kept to the wall, his hand trailing along the surface as he stepped. It was as if his legs had fallen asleep, his motions awkward and uneven. The lich was usually so graceful and lithe, it was a difficult thing to witness and you knew that it must be hitting his pride.

Silently, you hovered beside the monster as he made his way towards the lobby, possibly wanting to retreat to his office. But, as you two drew closer to the end of the hall he slowed, the voice of your friend filtered in.

“So, Jake didn’t show up to the funeral after all..?”

You bit onto your bottom lip, quickly glancing up into the lich’s face as he halted. That’s right.. he didn’t know that Jake escaped. Oh no.

The detective was next to speak, quieter, but still audible, “No.. I wasn’t expecting it to work though, to be honest. Dennis was more hopeful, talking it up before today.. Poor kid, burying his brother.. I’ll be checkin’ in on him and his folks later.”

Watching the lich’s expression gave you no indication of what he was thinking, and without your connection with him.. it was like trying to read a stone. Gently, you reached your hand out and carefully took his fingers in yours, but he remained motionless, staring straight ahead as he listened.

“Still no leads.. either..?”

There was a pause, before the detective replied with a sigh, “this guy has an incredible amount of luck.. but with the doctor awake again, we are trying to hustle. I’d prefer to not bury another mangled person.”

You gripped onto the lich’s hand, lightly pulling, leading him forward and he complied. It took a few moments to cross the threshold, his claws slipping off of the wall as he lumbered beside you, a light quaking working up through his figure. Jenny and the detective both turned to look with wide eyes as you both strolled across the large room, heading towards the opposing corridor.

“Doctor, you are looking better,” Briggs stated, slipping his hands into his pockets but the lich merely gave him a passing glance.

“Hey, guys-” you tried, but it was Gaster’s turn to lead you away. Jenny bit at her bottom lip as you gave her an apologetic smile, and carried on past them. The room went silent as they watched you turn forward, stepping in stride with the monster beside you who limped and trembled. His grip on your fingers stayed relatively firm, even though his posture was uncertain.

Jenny gave the detective an odd glance, but he merely sighed and shifted his weight into his hip, taking in how the lich shivered. The proud, large monster had an odd gait, with no real pattern to it. Seeing the scientist like this was unbelievable, not only for his return.. but for how quickly he was recovering. Carl sucked in a breath through his gums, tilting his head and shrugged before turning to Jenny and murmured, “c’mon, ma’am, we already missed the ceremony.”

Behind you, the two humans shuffled to the elevators, speaking with more restraint and subtly. The lich didn’t even pause, the both of you making your way down the hall at a reasonable pace. With the double doors of his office lying in wait just ahead, you couldn’t help but to feel anxious. You had hoped Gaster would had been kept in the dark about Jake, or that they would have found him by now.. but the way the lich seemed to disregard the conversation with not so much as a blank sideways glance, gave you hope that he was truly focused on just healing. That he learned his lesson, and he didn’t want to pursue it any longer.

***

Once inside of his office he then waved you away to sit on his desk as he scrutinized his machine. The vat his soul had been held in was completely destroyed, shards of acrylic still lay splattered across the floor and even atop the command prompt. Shakily, he stood before the machine, the second vat was churning violently with bright light, and without a word he began to sweep the shards from the keyboard to begin inputting commands.

You didn’t bother to try talking to him, he was focused. He managed to get the concoction under control, but this time, it aligned within the vat and trembled with sheer energy. His work had been completed, and ready, for days.. but Alphys had clearly been too intimidated to finish the process, and while the lich wanted to feel irked, this situation did give him the honors of flushing the material back into the machine.

Blinking, you watched as the metal thrummed loudly. Gaster glanced over his shoulder towards you, holding up a trembling hand to gesture at the desk you were sitting on. Curiously, you looked across the surface of the desk, finding nothing and looked back up at him. A soft sigh left his lips, he made a hand sign, but it went clear over your head.

“G, what about the desk-?” sighing you hopped down, glancing over the woodwork as he turned, leaning his hip against the metal before him. Not fully stable on his own two legs he had no choice but to motion once more to the desk, which you caught in your peripheral vision.

You knew he wasn’t going to speak to you, and couldn’t use his magic to communicate verbally. Walking around the desk to stand beside his office chair, you glanced up at him and saw him nod. Scrunching a brow your eyes dipped back down, glancing over the drawers. A lightbulb went off, he wanted something _inside of the desk._

Quickly, you pulled open the top drawers, glancing over the various contents before shutting the drawer and moving on. Whatever he wanted pertained to his medicine, you figured it would be glass vials, or some kind of strange device. When you pulled open the bottom drawer, and your eyes landed on the box of unused, fresh, needles, you grabbed them. You slammed the drawer back into place, popping up with the box in your hand and wiggled it a bit in the air with an eyebrow raised.

He blinked at you, and nodded.

You walked over to him with long strides, holding the box out for him to take. He didn’t look at you long, hardly even considered your existence, as he laid the box down on the keys and with quivering hands, opened it up.

“You know.. G..” you began, your eyes trailing down to how his fingers shook. He pilfered quite a few of them into his palm, “when you are feeling a bit better.. maybe you should, you know.. I miss hearing your voice.”

Silence. Glancing back up into his face, he was ignoring you. The lich watched his hands as a panel in the machine opened up, revealing a glistening, large, bottle. He then began to fill the needles with an exact dose, setting the filled syringes in the open lid of the box as he systematically filled every single one.

“G..?” you tried, scooting up a bit closer to him. His hide was shivering constantly, twitches and spasms in his arms and neck showcased his weakness, yet he continued to work. Your brows began to draw together and you reached out, laying your hand down on his tattered forearm. He paused, his eyes panning down to you.

You felt the tremors, and vibrations coursing through his muscles as you spoke, “I didn’t want them to remove it, you know.. but it was the only option, are you.. are you mad at me for it?”

The lich held his stoic air, subtly shaking his head, rejecting your notion, before he went back to filling syringes, having worked through half of the box already. Even as you held your hand against his strong, flinching, arm, he went about his duties. You felt shrugged off, and maybe it was because he was tired, obviously frustrated and struggling.. you couldn’t help but feel it was more than that.

 You watched as he moved through the syringes, falling to the final, small, handful. Softly, you murmured, your eyes focused on his hands, “I love you, G..”

He didn’t pause his movements, but his eyes did pull back over to you, and witnessed your submissive, solemn exterior. Carefully, he finished filling the remaining syringes, flipping one in his fingers as he slid it into his pocket while turning towards you. His change in posture brought your attention upwards as your hand slid from his arm in a slow drag. He bowed his chin to you, slipping a shivering clawed hand up your arm. Gently, he cupped the side of your neck, and caressed his thumb along your jawline while his white eyes held you.

The lich struggled to remain standing up right, and leaning down to meet you would surely be much too strenuous. But you understood his affection, lightly sighing as you brought your hand up and placed it on the back of his. He was warm, and despite his body tremors, he gave you a sense of strength and encouragement. Standing there for a moment, your hand left his as he carefully combed through your hair, pushing the strands away from your bandaged shoulder.

With his free hand, he closed the box, and attempted to lift it but you quickly took it from him. He blinked down at you rapidly, his hands drawing back towards him as you tucked the box close to your chest and spoke up to him firmly, “you shouldn’t even be standing right now, I’ll go take these to Claire and Alphys..”

Gaster had no choice but to watch as you stepped back from him, acrylic crunching beneath your feet, “just hang out for a minute, I’ll be right back.”

With that, you promptly turned and pushed through the double doors, leaving him behind. The lich let out a deep, soft breath, in no state to argue and limped to his desk. Easing himself into his chair he let his head rest back against the dark leather, closing his eyes for just a moment. His hand dug down into his pocket, snatching the syringe he kept for himself. He refused to wait for these tremors to cease, for his magic to slowly build.

That human, Jake Evans, he was still out there. The one who had dared smeared blood on the walls of his beloved’s home, the conductor to the madness of the warehouse brawl. It was much too dangerous for the lich to be brittle, and incapable, with that human still free and prowling. He popped the cap of the needle, and without bothering to look, he jammed the sharp metal point into the crook of his arm. Drawing in a sharp, hissing breath, he pushed the plunger down and flooded his veins with liquid fire.

His soul gave a burst of light, convulsions taking hold of his back and limbs, causing him to slowly roll forward into a deep hunch. He began to pant, keeping his eyes closed as the serum nuzzled and drove into every crack, into every last fibre of his being. It set his muscles ablaze, seizing and winding. For a moment, all he could do was keep his grip on the syringe imbedded into his arm, and shudder with ground shaking ferocity.

It was as if his scars were being retraced with the rusted, acidic end of a blade. Though, he soon submitted to the sensation, and with acceptance came peace. Slowly, he began to relax, his body accepting the sudden burst of purpose, of energy. Pulling himself back up he leaned into the chair and sighed, the trembling easing to a soft, hardly noticeable, shiver. The lich then drew the needle from his arm, panting, and fumbled to shut it within the top drawer of his desk to handle later.

For a moment, he just sat there, limp and docile as hot iron coursed through his limbs. He regulated his breathing, a counted, deliberate in and out. Saliva pooled in his jaws, to which he had to constantly swallow. It reminded him of how he would react to her naked skin, soft and beautiful beneath his fangs. The urge to imprint himself on her was strong, he could nearly contain himself at the thought of her whimpering.. but the look in her eyes, the heaviness in her posture was peculiar, and unnatural.

Did she truly deserve to be burdened by his wickedness..?

He flicked his tongue across his lips, a gentle breath caressing past his sharp teeth as he began to open his eyes once more. The bright, white luminescent lights of the room were blinding, and uncomfortable.. just like his realization.

No, he concluded.

Squinting at the ceiling, he began to believe that, perhaps.. it was better this way. Once the final human had been dealt with, she could live free once more.. without worry. Without such violence daring to court her purity. He could now feel that vicious energy soaking into his tissues, it invigorated him. Finally, the shakes subsided and instead, only power was left. It coursed through him like hellfire, and he embraced it as his wretchedness churned within his chest.

In an effort to bleed the over-abundance of energy, he summoned a few dozen hands, the sounds of clinking shards then filled the room. He refused to have his office remain a mess, though the vat would have to be replaced some other time. Conducting the skeletal apparitions was second nature, he hardly even thought about what they were doing as soon their work was done. Acrylic pieces dumped into the bin at the end of the room, and the apparitions were then folded back into nothingness.

Silence then filled the room, and his thoughts wandered. Closing his eyes once more, he allowed his body to relax into the chair, tilting his skull back against the supportive structure behind him.

At one time, he knew what he was. A General, a Survivor, the Royal Scientist.. now, that he was of something made of myth and fairytale.. his viciousness knew no bounds, his powers truly lay untested and only brushed upon. He craved meat, the blood of his enemies, to punish those who dare escape him and dared to brand his hide with bullet holes. He wanted to inflict pain, to earn screams of agony and pure terror, it festered like a sore in his chest.

The lich rolled his black, inky tongue behind his fangs as if marinating on a mouth full of metallic crimson.. and swallowed, with a grin.


	28. Recovery (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both you and the scientist recover and while you think that the lich has finally laid to rest his sly, sneaky ways he has other things in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciate you guys being so patient with me for this chapter. I wrote a bit of this while I was heavily medicated and it took a lot of effort and time to smooth out and polish. Because you guys have been kept waiting for so long I threw in an extra 5 pages as a thank you, and I hope to get more done in the next few days before I'm supposed to go on ANOTHER new medication since I 'failed' the others. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much, I really hope this was worth the wait. <3

You delivered the package to Claire, as you found her first. She looked at you, agape, and with a group of technicians they divided up the syringes and scattered. It was dizzying, all the movement and yelling. Thankfully the stoat had taken the box from you, unburdened by carrying anything you made haste back across the facility and to the lich’s office. You hoped he was still there, he had such a strong will of his own that it made you nervous to have him out of your sight.

Thankfully, when you re-entered the office, you found him just sitting in his chair. With his head tilted back, and eyes closed, he looked peaceful. Though, you did notice how suddenly the floor was spotless. Sighing in aggravation you padded up to the desk, and slammed your hands down into it, trying to stir his attentions but all you did was make him peek out from under his damaged eyelid at you.

“You need to stop doing shit you’re not supposed to be doing.”

Glaring at him, he merely just continued to eyeball you. Not even trying to take in the details of your face as you stood straight, and folded your arms, “I gave Claire the box, and everyone ran with the serum.. I didn’t stick around to see how it worked, but I think they’ll come let us know..”

He didn’t respond. He already knew it worked, well.. it worked for him, that is.

You allowed the silence to sink in and were getting an odd sense of déjà vu, back in the underground, before he had opened up to you truly. It was starting to grate on you. With a sigh you strode around the desk, standing right before his chair with the desk against your backside. You unwove your arms, causing the lich to then open both eyes, as you reached up to the side of your neck and before he could react you tore the bandage from your skin.

Wincing, you sighed at the blood stained patch and tossed it onto the floor, leaning forward towards him and gestured, “now, can you please take care of this.. so you will finally fucking talk to me?”

The lich eyed you, though his focus quickly trained on the bright red, glistening, wounds in your neck and shoulder. The scent of copper, and your sweet, natural scent slid easily across his palate. He swallowed, more drool having begun to pool within his jaws but he remained still, and motionless.

Blinking at him, you leaned forward further, showcasing your wound. But he did nothing.

You then began to become truly, angry. Without a warning, you clambered up onto his lap, startling him slightly as his sockets widened. You straddled his waist, gripping onto his broad shoulders and hissed, “what is wrong with you…?”

He met your pained glare with a flat, blank, look. Holding composure was.. difficult. You were pressed so sweetly against him, your flesh beckoning to him as you sat against his stirring manhood. The metal scent of your blood made his tongue roll in his jaws, though outwardly.. he was expressionless.

“G.. why won’t you talk to me..?” your voice began to break, slipping a hand down along his chest, wrapping around his ribs while the other came up to grasp the back of his neck, “what did Sans say to you-? Did he say something to not make you want to talk to me..?”

Your teeth clenched together tightly, staring into his white, shimmering eyes and whilst he did gaze back.. there was nothing behind his expression. The ends of your fingertips came to curl into his neck, grasping him tightly, “do I have to make you do this-?!”

Without another word, you shoved forward, tucking his face against the crook of your neck. Grinding upwards along his chest and abdomen to properly present your reopened bite mark, you held him against your tender skin. A shaky, pained breath left your lungs as he inhaled. His eyes rolled into his skull, eyelids flickering while he opened his mouth against your throat.

Unable to contain himself, he breathed heavily across your open sores, drawing his twitching hands up onto your back, keeping you pressed against him as he marinated on your scent. You were begging him to claim you, pushing him to it even.. and yet.. his fangs hovered just before the surface, a light quiver of his own trailing along his squirming tongue. Oh how he wanted to taste you, to harvest that golden energy within, just beneath the surface.. but he abstained.

His mark had only brought you pain, made you a target.. he cherished you, and he fought a hard battle internally. The subtle stance of morality, of what was right, tossing and fighting back the urge of instinct and greed. Closing his eyes, he nuzzled upwards against your jawline, a soft pant leaving his throat as he tentatively tasted your skin with a soft flick of his tongue.

A light moan left your lips, shivering in his hands as he felt over your back and waist familiarizing himself with your body. Eventually, he began to lap gently down your neck, but when he came to the open wounds, he halted his advance. Digging your fingertips into his flesh you murmured, drawing out your words on a heavy breath, “please, G.. stop tormenting me, this is all supposed to be over now.. Do it.”

He murmured something, it was short, but you could hear the moan that his words rode on. The echoed, static warble left you quivering as you pulled at his neck harder, trying to force his lips onto your neck. A growl left his chest, reverberating against you while he tightened his grip around you, pinning you to him as he breathed against your open wound.

The fresh air stung, and you whimpered, ducking your face into his neck, nestling into the soft folds of his zip-up, “please, G.. I feel so.. _empty_ , without you..” you listened to how he breathed, filling his lungs completely before each wavering outlet of air. He was still hesitating, and now.. you had a feeling as to why. After all of this, it was now his turn to try to tell you what you wanted, what was ‘good for you’. It welled a burning sting to your eyes, sharply huffing against his hide.

“Don’t you dare be doing this because you think you’re ‘protecting’ me.. I want this, I want to give unto you. I want to give you my, everything..” the words left your lips on a whisper, a soft tightening in your throat made it difficult to articulate, but he heard you clearly. His next exhale was shaky, his spine straightening up as he leaned forward and carefully prodded the negative space between each triangular wedge in your skin with the tip of his tongue.

It hurt, but you let him, submitting to his tasting as he murmured something else, his words seemingly urgent, and low. Letting go of reality, you fell into a synchronized rhythm with the monster. The pace of his laden breath was your tempo, you began to grind your hips down against him, running your palm down his side to grip at his open jacket and forced the fabric to open. With haste, you then pulled you your own shirt, pressing your warm, soft skin tightly against him. At this, he let out a heavier groan.

The heat from your flesh intermingled, sparking at the lich as he began to lean forward farther, dipping your back while he gripped tightly to your hip. He pulled you against him, a hard, throbbing bulge pressing between your thighs against your heat. His tongue then laid more flat against your skin, only barely brushing across your open wounds. The taste of copper, and daisies.. it sent a shiver down his spine.

Lifting your head, you pressed your lips into the side of his neck, opening your mouth to draw in his thick hide between your teeth in a sensual, gnawing bite. Sucking, twisting your tongue against his flesh, and pulling at him with your fangs gave you a hearty response. His claws begun to dig into your thigh as he tucked you tighter to his lap, his hips giving a roll upwards to grind himself against you.

A gentle moan left your throat, coursing into his veins, the perfect aphrodisiac. You then released him, your breath sparking a cooling sensation across his wetted flesh as you murmured, “fuck me..”

That was all it took. But you were never expecting such a harsh reaction as he lunged forward from the chair, taking you with him and in one swift action he slammed your back against the desk while his jaws enclosed around your neck. His tongue lavished you, his jaws grinding into your flesh, milking for blood as he churned the slippery tendril into your wounds. You squirmed beneath him, shutting your eyes tightly as you let out a choked cry.

Your nails pulled across the back of his neck, slipping your other hand up around his ribs to his back, digging into the notches of his spine. He subconsciously rolled his hips into you as he worked, your soft, pained sounds sung so sweetly to him. With his tongue coating you, came the tingling, hot sensation within your chest. It warmed like a spring, overflowing out into the rest of your body while inky, black tendrils began to sink within your skin, and wrap around your soul.

He swallowed the metallic mixture in his jaws, as he sealed your wounds with his mark. Passionately, he began to move up your neck, testing your form beneath his prodding teeth. You bent beneath him, a warm arousal stirring in your stomach as he gave a needy roll of his hips against you. His scent, masculine and strong, washed over you, losing yourself in him. Your hands pulled at his jacket, lifting it upwards to expose his tattered, pale hide. His hands began to grab at your body, pulling your shirt upwards further before scrambling with the buttons of your jeans.

His name was a whisper on your lips, your head tilting back as he reached your jawline and playfully ground his teeth against you. He pulled his lips from your wet skin with a kiss, the peck singing to your heart as you heard him, clear as day, murmur your name with a light moan trailing at the end. A smile crossed your face, your bottom lip quivering as emotion began to pour in.

Suddenly, he reached upwards, cupping the side of your face as he slipped his arm beneath you, pinning you against him. He could feel the subtle way in which your chest was beginning to shudder, and the urge to hide you, to protect you, became too strong. He made sure to tuck your face into his neck as he gathered his magic, and before you could process what was happening the hard desk at your back gave way to your supple, soft, comforter.

The sheets were chilled, and sent a shiver down your back as the lich then quickly began to pull off your shirt. Only remaining pulled away for a moment to toss his own jacket to the side before crashing back on top of you, his lips met yours with heavy need. A whimper left your throat, slipping across the slimy, wet tendril prodding into your mouth. You slid your hands across his back, grasping and clawing at him as he tore down your jeans and panties.

You heard the fabric hit the floor beside the bed, but the lich was impatient with his own trousers and merely unzipped them in haste. He gave you no warning, his throbbing, hot shaft pressing against your folds as his forearms hit the mattress on either side of you. He was panting, his chest heaving as he gave a tender roll forth, your walls ached beneath his force. A mewl left your lips as he growled and bucked, burying into your quivering form.

“G, slow down..” you breathed, gasping and shivering beneath him.

He lightly shushed you, a whisper caressing your lips as he gave a sudden pant and drove his hips forward against you. Instantly, your back arched and a shaky whimper bubbled up from your lungs, the force of his motions sent a tremble through your legs. The lich loomed over you, radiating his warmth into your squirming body rustling the sheets, serenaded by the sounds of pained pleasure he pressed his sharp cheekbone against your own in a tender nuzzling.

Trailing your hands up the lich’s scalding sides, you stretched your fingertips outwards, digging into his thick hide while he gave another impatient roll forward. Gasping, you craned your head backwards, exposing your neck as you panted and submissively took his claim. The both of you breathed in tandem, his deep, hot exhales washed over your soft skin. It only took a few more urgent nudges before he hit the pit of your stomach and drew a subtle whine to strain through your parted, wetted lips.

Properly filled, he remained wedged against your thighs, his lips brushing across the curve of your neck to send a soft shiver down your spine. His name left your lips once more, and he responded with a light moan, yawning his jaws open to caress your skin with the edges of his fangs. You felt a flutter rise in your stomach, and chest, at his touches, at being caged beneath his massive form. Keeping your eyes closed, you let your head fall to the side towards him, lightly panting against the side of his jaw.

A melodic reverberation trembled within his ribs as he turned to meet you, gazing under his half lidded expression at the soft flutter of your eyelashes, meeting his attentions with your own focus. He dipped his chin to press his mouth forward, but you playfully tilted away, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. You felt him shift as he brought a hand up to the side of your face, carefully cupping your cheek in his damaged palm, affectionately swiping his thumb across your cheek as he murmured, “how dare you continue to tease me.. my love..”

“You didn’t even try to catch me..” you whispered, slipping a hand up along his back while the other felt downward towards his sharp hip. Staring into his bright, piercing eyes summoned a strong stirring against your heart and filled you with warmth, yet tears welled in your vision. Blinking them away rapidly, you could not conceal the subtle quiver in your bottom lip. Bringing your legs up, you carefully wrapped them around his waist, feeling his tattered hide against your smooth flesh.

“Shh.. I already have you.. and I will always, have you..” he murmured, giving a gentle nudge of his hips to grind himself through your tight walls and nestle into the pit of your stomach. You gave a shallow moan, inhaling with a light tremble as he approached your lips and swiped his teeth along your bottom lip. Continuing his slow, languid movements he spoke against your open mouth, “you are so dear to me.. I fear the possibility of us parting, for it would be at my fault if something were to happen.”

“Is that why you didn’t want to be tied to me..?” you whispered, a soft hitch in your throat drew your lips to part further as you breathed out a subtle moan from his throbbing shaft beginning to pull farther away before tucking deep within your body.

“Oh, my beloved..” he cooed, slipping his fingers around your skull as he continued to hold you, “never in my life would I want to be separate from you, you are my mid-morning sunlight.. chasing away the shadows of doubt and bitterness, leaving only clarity and purpose to shimmer like dew on a new dawn.”

A flush drew into your cheeks, your smile widening as you breathed and began to rock along with his motions, your hips meeting in a gentle coupling that built not only an instinctual urge but a spiritual entanglement. You hadn’t heard him speak like this to you before, his words were naked, and delicate. Honest. Tilting your chin towards him, your lips passed across his as a soft groan edged from his throat. The words tumbled from your lips amidst meaningful touches, losing yourself in the softness of his eyes, “I don’t care what may, or may not, happen.. I want to be like this, with you.. for as long as possible. Even if that’s just a few years, a month.. a minute..”

The lich sighed, a soft groan passing through his vocal chords as he ground his lips against yours, your jaws grinding in an open, lusting kiss. Through the intermittent breaks of flesh, he would give a more solid thrust, his strong abdomen grinding against your stomach and inner thighs. He spoke into your mouth, static tickling your tongue, “as you wish..” through his words you couldn’t contain yourself, flicking your tongue forth to greet his own slick tendril. After a few, probing touches, his mouth came against your own and pressed your skull down into the sheets as he ground his flat, inky tongue along your own.

For once, it wasn’t the taste of scotch that pervaded your senses, it was his true flavors. While there was an undertone of chemicals, bitter and acidic, there was a soothing herbal tone that coated your throat with a soft, cooling sensation. It drew your curiosity and you greedily dug your fingers into the back of his neck, nearly begging for more of him as your bodies ground and rocked against each other. Sparks of electricity wound outward across your form, intertwining with the flutter in your stomach and warmth in your heart. Your motions started to become heavier, and he noticed nearly immediately.

He parted from your lips momentarily to shush you once more, whimpers leaving your throat as he drew an arm up beneath your head while the other trailed down to your lower back. You could feel his sides tense as he gave a few more, lasting, pleasant, thrusts before he picked up his pace and truly began to delve into your form. Ramming into your cervix, he coaxed shivers and spasms through your walls as the both of you groaned. Being pillaged so roughly forced your spine into an arch, elongating your body beneath him as you tilted your head back and panted, allowing your eyes to close.

As he rolled against you, his sharp hips gliding along your inner thighs with tight precision, you fell into the lull of his breath against your skin. Hot, ragged, and deep, the air would catch his vocal chords and temper a soft echoed warble every so often against an exhale. There was passion here, and it built along with the glimmering beads of sweat coating your soft skin while you ground in explicit ecstasy against the lich. Involuntary, subtle whimpers caught in your throat as his pulsing shaft worked through your tensing form, nudging against the pit of your stomach with a roughness that inspired true desire.

His entire body was rolling with the motions of his hips, slipping his scars along your slick, supple flesh. He turned his head, tilting his chin forward to tenderly bite onto the crook of your neck, pulling at your skin in a slow, teasing tear that coaxed a gasp from your lungs. You shivered beneath him, arching your spine while he drove into you rhythmically, striking a sweet spot that ignited a shudder to travel through your legs. With a deep groan, you pulled your fingertips along his back while wrapping your calves around his lower back, your legs being tugged along with his heavy need fueling the way his cock struck through your form.

Your skin pulled free from between the lich’s teeth as you panted heavily, a tightness winding in your hips and back as his thrusting narrowed to a shallow, rough, bucking. Pressing you against the sheets with force, a tender ache began to swell within your stomach while you felt his abdomen press and hilt against your mound. With each exhale he managed to pull a pleasant, wantonness mewl from your lips which called to him. His breath wove with your own as his lips hovered against the corner of your mouth, a soft moan leaving his throat while his haunches began to tense.

Digging your nails into his back, your fingertips caught on the edges of his scars, pulling a shiver from his spine while your lusting exhales fed his own intakes of breath. Daisies coated his palate, while the subtle scent of earthen tones filled your lungs. You shared this spiritual right of breath, lost in one another, the world was left long forgotten. A deeper connection was being forged in the fires of desire, heat built and dispersed through your chest as a longing pull allowed your energies to intermingle in an elegant dance of shedding golden sparks, and tendrils of night.

While this display went unseen by the both of you, it certainly wove a strengthening tether in your breast, your heart fluttering as your spine rocked beneath the feral need of the lich above you. His breath beat across the side of your face, static trickling along his fangs. Just as a needy murmur of his name left your lips he growled, pulling at your lower back into a deep arch that allowed him to strike your very center with passionate gyrations. A choked cry left your throat, tears glistening along your eyelashes, a tremble working through your legs and back as he took you to the peak of the mountain.

He could feel your body winding around him, your urgent noises spurring his motions to a faster pace. Nudging his hardened face against your own he shushed you once more but his hips were the far opposite of collected, ramming against your inner thighs with tight aggression. You tried to quiet down, clenching your teeth together as a pained expression crossed your features. It wasn’t long before your jaws broke open, tearing your nails down along his back in deep drags while a broken cry carried through your throat. Waves of sheer euphoria shuddered through your back, your veins flooding in electricity while your muscles bound and pulled along his throbbing, dark shaft.

A sudden, reverberating groan left the lich as he angrily rammed into the pit of your stomach with harsh, deep thrusts. Riding you through your climax while a shiver of his own wove through his spine, his stomach and outer thighs flexed instinctively just as his scalding essence flooded you. You gasped, writhing beneath him, clawing across his back desperately as his acidic seed stung and bit at your walls. He then growled, deep and powerful, his bared fangs pressed tightly against your cheek while he heaved through his teeth in an animalistic display. His hips firmly pressed against you, but continued to slightly nudge inward on their own volition.

His name left your panting lips, your body slowly beginning to wind down as you laid sweating and exhilarated beneath him. Turning your face slowly, you pressed your lips into the shimmering, sharp teeth of the lich which only caused him to snarl. This feral behavior did not at all incite fear, instead, it brought a warmth into your very soul. Allowing your fingers to relax, you slid your hands up along his jagged spine in an affectionate caress. Beneath your soft petting his hips finally halted, but remained tightly pinned against you, his thick seed slipping from your folds to cascade downward onto the sheets.

For a moment, the only thing either of you could do was to lie there in each other’s arms and slowly ease from your blissful afterglow. Eventually, he did sigh, his jaws relaxing as he opened them and allowed the rush of air to brush across your heated, damp skin. He then carefully pulled his arm out from under your head, setting the back of your skull against the sheets as he brought his hand up and gently wiped away the glistening tear lines from your cheek with his thumb. Slowly, you allowed your eyes to flicker open and found him gazing at you with a half lidded, tender expression.

A smile crossed your lips, not even having known tears had escaped you. You watched him as he blinked and bowed his head down to you, pressing his brow into your own with a gentle rumbling in his chest. A purr. Unable to help yourself, a light giggle fluttered through your lungs and the lich responded by softly nuzzling his sharp brow against your forehead. The vibrations tickled his chest, coursing through his body in soft shivers that wound through his hide. Sighing, satisfied to lie here forever, you murmured, “you’re amazing, G..”

“Mnn, nay.. my dear, you are captivating..” he replied, a semblance of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. There was a pause, and while you were happy with the silence, gently rolling your brow against his amidst the sounds of his purring, he then spoke once more, “you know everything I do, I do for your benefit... correct?”

“Yeah.. I know you just try to do the right thing..” you whispered, slowing your nuzzling as you opened your eyes further to stare into his honest, dare-say happy, expression, “I just wish.. you’d be more careful. I want you to be okay in not having to.. respond so aggressively all the time, you know.. doing things you shouldn’t be doing.”

You gave him a look, smirking with a light snort as you caught your breath and his grin merely spread, blinking lazily down at you while he murmured, “My dear.. I do not know what you mean.”

A light hearted laughter spilled from your lips, patting his back against his jagged shoulder blade while you playfully narrowed your eyes, “you can’t pull those puppy dog eyes with me, G. Smartass..” a gentle sigh left your lips, adjusting your head back against the sheets as your expression softened, “you have a family.”

He blinked, the slightest tilting of his head exposed the odd way your words struck him. You continued to smile, running your hands across his heated back while his breath caressed your lips. Never before, that he could remember, had he been able to relate with domestic life. His parents were long gone, his work strenuous and demanding. The sheer idea of having roots, connections.. it sent a stirring within his chest. Still, his response was rather flat, “Indeed. I have you, to protect and to keep.”

“Which is fine.. I get you’re just trying to take care of us..” you began, staring him straight in the eyes, trying to ignore the subtle aching of your loins, his hips still wedged firmly against your own, “I just don’t want to lose you again.”

“I am not going anywhere, my dear.” He spoke, tilting his chin forward to brush his lips across your own with a soft pant. The taste of him sent a soft shiver down your spine, his hips cautiously rolling forward to grind himself deep within you. A slight moan left your throat, coaxing your eyelids to fall as he nudged into the side of your cheek, tilting your head to the side to expose your neck. He skipped his fangs across your skin, striking along your obsidian markings like a matchbox. Sparks of pleasure soaked into your form, a smile pulling at your lips.

Through his careful necking you murmured, “I’d love for you stay here with me in the apartment, G. But, I don’t think the city will agree with that.. I was thinking, if it would be all right with you to move into the underground with you..?”

He paused his movements, flicking his gaze upwards to your relaxed expression as he mumbled against your neck, “you seem to have forgotten your favor that you had asked of me awhile ago..”

Scrunching your brow, you peeked out from beneath your eyelids at him but before you could ask, he went on, “you wished for me to join you on the surface. I already have a few locations in mind, a particular property is far from the city.. I feel you will most enjoy it, love.”

Your eyes slowly widened, watching him as he lifted his head and grinned with a sly smugness. Turning to fully face him your hands halted against his back, speaking softly, “wait, you were looking into buying a house? You weren’t just.. saying that, before?”

A pressing exhale slipped from his lips as he shifted on his elbows, looming above you, “I have never liked the idea of you staying here, too many people nearby, too.. exposed. There is only one more lose end to take care of, here in the city, before I will move you there-”

“The council meeting?” you interrupted, watching him curiously as he paused, his grin faltering for a split second before he recovered and carefully nodded. It wasn’t enough to appease you though, and your brows drew together into a scowl. The lich breathed a gentle sigh, cupping your face thoughtfully and gazed down towards you.

“Yes, the second pony show we are forced to attend. If I wished to be pestered and prattled at, I would go back to that infernal hospital room and allow the stoat to tell me her opinions on my sudden absence.”

A smile cracked over your features, slightly shaking your head as you breathed, “that’s so wrong, G.”

“Is it?” he replied, mirroring your amused expression as he leaned downward and carefully pressed his lips to yours. His skin was scalding, comforting, and you melted beneath him for a moment. Allowing your thoughts to dissolve while your jaws gently ground in sync, your lips parting briefly to share delicate breaths that began to fan the embers sparking into flame in your chests.

The sheets rustled beneath you as the lich tucked his hands beneath your form, a playful growl spilling forth from his chest as he rolled you while your teeth nibbled at his bottom lip. A soft giggle erupted from your throat as he teasingly nipped back, your shifting bodies basking beneath the reddening rays of the sunset trickling through between the blinds.

***

The stoat stood at the bedside of a young monster, a sterling silver feline. Claire was softly scribbling against a clipboard, noting the time and how long it had been since she had administered the serum. She was uncertain if it would work, and was preparing herself for its failure. While the doctor was gone, his concoction was so volatile, so violent, she wasn’t sure if it would assist in recovery or allow a faster passing. Her concern was shared with the other technicians and even Alphys herself who had given her a worrisome look while making her rounds, the only response the stoat could think of was to nod and force a smile. Which was reciprocated, albeit more awkwardly, before the other woman stepped further down the hall nervously tapping her claws against her own clipboard.

She sighed, her red frames slipping down her snout while she tucked her pen between the clip and glanced upwards. Tucking the board against her abdomen with one hand, she pulled the other upwards to press her glasses back up against the bridge of her muzzle. It was relatively quiet now, just the soft murmurs of other technicians down the corridor and the shuffling of equipment. The silence drew heavily upon the stoat, her tail loose and limp while bags pulled beneath her eyes. There had been so much chaos for so long, she hadn’t gotten a full night’s rest in what felt like ages. Others may have taken the solace as a good sign, a positive omen for the storms final passing.. but she could not help but feel as if it was due to being within the eye of the storm, another bought of chaos sure to ensue.

Claire then yawned, dropping her hand to tuck up beneath her red frames to rub at the underside of her eye as her lips pulled back, jaws parting while her tongue curled in a feral, silent snarling. She exhaled heavily, scrunching her facial features as the hot air leaving her lungs brushed outwards into the room. Her exhaustion ended in a soft murring, trickling through her throat naturally while her pelt shivered and then relaxed. She pinched the side of her red frames between her index finger and her thumb, adjusting them properly on her maw as she blinked and focused through the lenses down at the young girl in the bed.

At first, her vision was blurred, but as she continued to blink and clear her view she found the young girl’s eyelids beginning to flicker. The stoat’s heart jolted, a soft gasp drawing into her chest as she quickly scurried up closer to the girl’s side and watched in disbelief as the monster’s lids then began to lift through the twitching of her pale eyelashes. Then, the flash of sapphire blue iris was unveiled, flicking gently to take in the room with a slow confusion.

The stoat exhaled, short, sharp and awed. She reached out, carefully grasping onto the girl’s hand to gather her attention. Slowly, but surely, the feline tilted her head to the side, taking in the stoat’s glistening eyes as tears welled behind her lenses. At first, her lips opened and closed a few times, unable to find proper words but they then came to her as she whispered down to the reborn life in the bed, “h-hello, my name is Claire Medina.”

The girl blinked lazily, taking in the expression of the bewildered woman before her. She then began to smile, and with a raspy breath she exhaled, “Hi.. I-I’m Kassie.”

Claire gently laughed, a tear slipping down her cheek as she held onto this young girl gazing so consciously at her. The stoat nodded, she had known her name for a few months, but never expected to hear such a gentle voice speak ever again. She then began to ask her a few, simple questions, and went on to explain what had happened to her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she walked the girl through her treatments, how long she was gone for. As she explained, the stillness was interrupted by laughter, loud, excited talk and the patter of claws across the polished floors of the hallway.

***

A few days then passed, the excitement of the recovered fallen monsters had spread like wildfire though the scientist seemed unmoved by his own success. His flat attitude was nothing new, despite the high emotions of his staff it left him unaffected. Focused on his own healing he kept mostly to himself, observing the wards with a quiet, cautious stillness. Though as he walked, he tried to disguise his slight limp with a slower stride. It wasn’t fooling anybody but they dared to not point it out as he spent his days in the research facility, all activity being monitored by his careful eye as some monsters needed another dose to fully pull them from the brink.

It was a delicate balancing act, one that you accompanied him with as you stood beside him, helping where you could and keeping an eye on his overall lax behavior. You absolutely refused to just stay home, you were worried about how Gaster stood and weakly stepped around as if in pain but he wouldn’t disclose his true status to you. It was frustrating, but to be expected from him. The morning after your return you noticed he wasn’t shaking anymore, but moved as if his joints were strained and while he stood with you in the kitchen that morning the door suddenly burst open. There was nothing he could do to avoid the two children who flung themselves at him, tears in their eyes while the goat yelled gibberish.

It took nearly fifteen minutes to get them to release his legs while he stood motionless with a bored tone plastered across his face. You knew better though, and so did they, knowing that he did not mind their celebration as he didn’t even try to shoo them away while they clung to his strong calves as if for dear life. Frisk and Asriel were darling companions, it was their exuberance for the lich’s return that started to grow heavy on you as the days went on. They were equally as startled, and heart struck, as you were when they saw him again.

It was as if they were scared to let him leave their sight, they wanted to spend more and more time with the both of you and Toriel was always the one to end up corralling them back across the hall. To keep them at home, Gaster had them carry two identical black moths, to ease their concern and block them from trying to sneak back over when the two of you were having a more private experience. It not only settled the children, but also yourself. Knowing his magic had returned and was stable eased your worry, even if he wouldn’t speak with you about where he stood health wise.

Whenever he left for the labs, he took you with him. Dressed in his professional attire of his turtleneck and dark lab coat, he looked better, more composed and content. Though, instead of just locking himself away in his study he seemed to take an interest in the recovering fallen monsters, who were all now awake and alert. Surprisingly enough, nobody liked to just sit in their rooms and the halls were filled with patients who conversed and made friends with the staff who had given up on trying to keep them in bed. Even when Gaster strolled by them, they were not as fearful as the technicians and even passed him grateful smiles, knowing it was him who had resurrected them. His odd, dark energy did not bother them as much as you had thought, and they didn’t even look twice at your neck like the others had.

They had to remain for a few more days, per the scientist’s order, to be sure all had received proper dosing and care. While you followed the lich around, nearly tucked at his side, he rarely spoke but enjoyed your closeness as he wasn’t willing to press on without you either in front of him, or beside him. You rarely left the lich out of your sight, but there were times where you had to, leaving him to assist Alphys or run an errand of some sort. Luckily, it seemed as if his slow recovery was hindering his temper and allowed him to be satisfied with his work. Not once did he try to speak about Jake, even though he clearly overheard Jenny and the detective. Truly, you didn’t want to think about it too much and decided to let it be in hopes to not remind him of his vendetta. It was time to move on, look ahead in this new, positive life.

During these lapses in your presence, the lich would merely murmur to the stoat, the lightest touch of the back of his fingers against her arm ensured her full attention to his translated words. Much to his pleasure, the woman was discrete and neatly tucked property information at the back of a patient file, handing it to him a few hours later with you none the wiser. The scientist had noticed your clingy behavior, and while it was all right with him, he outright refused to have you living in such an exposed location. Your safety, your protection, was still his upmost priority and to prevent you from worrying he conducted his business carefully, just under your nose.

The stoat expertly then distracted you as he flipped open the folder, escorting you away to help assist in physical therapy of some young feline monster. The women seemed to be very familiar with this girl and you went without hesitation, leaving the lich alone in his office with other stacks of patient folders he had been keeping an eye on. Once the doors were closed, clicking shut behind the both of you, he plucked the loose papers from behind the medical documents and gazed over them. Luckily, the asking price had dropped, it was a pricey estate for the area but not for him.

He had seen this home once before, albeit the realtor was unaware. It wouldn’t matter, he figured a second visit was in order and now was the perfect opportunity. Tucked against the side of the mountain, a distance away from the city, a well-hidden path led through the thick foliage to a modest estate. The exterior had been updated, an elegant front entryway with a heavy wooden door that led inside to the open foyer. All around the home were tall, lush trees, concealing the location well from prying eyes and the property itself held many acres of private land which was settling. A nice perimeter to buffer this shelter, one that he could fully claim and threaten away any trespasser with natural, dark energies.

The structure was sound, layout appropriate, and already had larger amenities for himself such as the shower, and stovetop. Granite counter tops, vaulted ceilings, and an open living room with large, elegant windows to let in the sun’s rays. The natural light was impressive; he could see himself staying here for quite a while. A gentle hum pulled through his throat, he was unsure if the city would allow him to continue his work in his facility but it would not be of much issue to transform the basement into a lab. He was used to a smaller workspace, it was more personal that way anyhow. Standing in the foyer he gave one last glance around, before vanishing.

Upon his sly return, he resumed the tender limping while he came up upon the stoat whom was idly scribbling on a clip board in the hallway. Her technicians dispersed, per usual, at his approach which caused her to draw her attention up and over her shoulder. He made eye contact with her, standing tall and still before dipping his chin in a knowing nod. She then grinned, and returned the gesture. Her eyes caught something past him and her smile quickly dropped. The lich turned, glancing over his shoulder as he watched you approach down the hall with a familiar, mustached man. The detective.

You carefully closed the distance and cleared your throat, flicking your focus upwards into the lich’s white gaze, “we have to go.”

Claire blinked, turning fully with a twitch of her tail to look between yourself and Briggs who seemed at ease, though he didn’t speak. Gaster didn’t seem fond of this demand, tilting his shoulder more towards you as he raised his undamaged brow. You let a soft breath leave your lips before continuing, “that.. uhm, meeting. They want us to go down there now, they didn’t give us a notification for it since they didn’t want us to.. _‘plan anything’_.” You quoted sourly, casting a sideways glance at Carl who stood with a neutral expression, staring upwards at the scientist clad in black.

“We had gone to your office, Doctor.. but you weren’t there.” The man spoke, carefully taking in the stoic expression of the lich who stood tall and regal. A light pattering of a moth scurried across the scientist’s back as he stared down at the human, holding his gaze with unwavering scrutiny.

“Carl caught me on my way back,” you clarified, casting a glance back at the man who had his eyes locked with the lich’s, “I figured you were just doing your rounds again.”

The detective knew quite well that the scientist wouldn’t even try to speak with him, so he went on in a mild tone, “the King should already be there, waiting for us. So, if things are all wrapped up here we should also be on our way.”

The scientist’s mood soured, yet he held his stoic outer appearance. You jumped in, the lich’s thoughts spilling from your lips as you flicked your gaze over the detectives calm exterior, “where exactly are we going..?”

Just as the man’s attention flicked off of the lich and towards you, a flitter of black left the scientist’s black coat and tumbled through the air to land upon the stoat’s arm. Claire had her eyes locked onto the detective, that soon changed with the light scurrying against her bicep. Jerking her gaze downward, her heart sped up to only ease back down at the sight of Oliver, his torn wing slowly fanning the air as he sat calm and complacent against the sheer white of her own jacket. Brigg’s voice spilled forth into the hallway, calling the stoats curiosity as she looked up and adjusted her red framed glasses.

“Just follow me.. I’ve got the address.” He smiled, but none of you returned the gesture. The man dug around in his pocket and flipped out a small notebook, one you recognized he always kept on him. As you looked to G for his thoughts you found him fixating on the booklet. You raised a brow at him, pulling his attention from the detective to you and he simply gave a subtle nod.

The silence was interrupted by Briggs who breathed his words, reading the location out loud. Downtown somewhere, the most difficult location to not draw attention to the lich, you thought bitterly. Without a word, the detective turned and headed back to the lobby and you followed quietly behind him. Gaster lingered behind, casting a quick glance to Claire who cleared her throat and whispered, “I’ll put an offer down for you-”

“Just pay it,” he muttered, the black moth then skittering over her shoulder. She stared at him with wide eyes, nearly stammering but he just waved his hand and began to walk after you.

The stoat was left holding her clipboard, blinking after the three of you and watched as you turned to glance back at the lich as he came up beside you and calmed your nerves. She witnessed the smallest of smiles grace your lips before you turned forward once more and Claire let out a soft sigh, she didn’t know when she became the lich’s secretary when Alphys was his supposed protégé. She wouldn’t complain though, at least he was focusing on other things.

Before the three of you could make it to the elevator the lich cleared his throat, effectively getting the detective to stop and turn his attention to the large monster at your side. Gaster didn’t seem thrilled, the bored expression slathered over his face was evident of that enough yet he still spoke with a stoic air regardless of his clear disdain, “This location.. since it is off of 25th and Main, must be the State building where the Royal Family made their case to repel the ban of magic in the city.”

Blinking up at him you replied, Briggs sighing through his nose in irritation from the language barrier, “you just want to take us there? It’ll be faster-”

“I don’t think these big wigs want him using his magic,” the detective added, keeping his focus on you as you glanced to him, “this is all about him, after all. Knowing them they’ll want a tight leash- so to speak.”

A soft snort left your nostrils, shrugging a shoulder while you leaned closer to the scientist to place a hand up on his forearm, “well then, we better take advantage of being blissfully ignorant. You know.. since we didn’t get a warning or anything either, how were we supposed to know he can’t use magic?”

The bratty expression that crossed your lips drew the slightest semblance of an annoyed chuckle from the detective. Carl tucked his notebook back into his slacks and breathed, “fine, Sans can just bring us back if that is the case by the end of this.”

“Sans is there?” you asked, the lich remaining silent.

“Everyone who is considered part of the Royal Family. The King, Queen, their children, Sans and his brother- and I suppose you two as well.” He watched you open your mouth to respond but he quickly cut in, making a light hand gesture, “family isn’t just about blood, ma’am.”

A light tug snagged the corner of your mouth and you nodded, digesting his words while holding out your free hand to the man, “I suppose you’re right..”

He nodded, taking your hand in his. His skin was warm, rough and calloused yet he had a gentle grip on your delicate fingers. You felt the lich slip his arm around you, his claws digging into the soft flesh of your belly just above your hip and while you closed your eyes, preparing for the jump, Gaster was fixated on your hand. Suppressing a growl, he gave no warning and sent the three of you through the void.

There was weightlessness, a slight dizzy feeling, and the grip on your hand was tighter than before as suddenly a bright light was shining against your eyelids. The hot summer air caressed your skin, the sound of cars, of people walking and chatting erupted around you. A few gasps and scurrying soon accompanied these sensations as you opened your eyes, your fingers going slack to allow the detective to pull his hand from yours although the lich kept his arm around you. Squinting through the light, you flicked your gaze around your surroundings. You were standing just beneath the steps of the state capitol building, a few business men and monsters bustling around the three of you which only gave the lich a glance before averting their gaze from the harsh, striking glare of the scientist’s gleaming eyes.

Briggs cleared his throat, squinting and blinking as he also gathered his bearings and then turned his attentions to the both of you, waiting for you to finally look at him with clarity before he spoke, “it’s not in the capitol building, we’re in a quaint side office. Just follow me, it’s not a long walk from here.”

You simply nodded, turning your attention to look at the walks of life all around you. The stares and odd looks were normal for you, it had just felt like so long since you had actually been outside, you were thrown into society with all of these energies churning around you. Stepping from the lich’s grasp he lingered his touch on the small of your back, encouraging you to walk in front of him so as he could take up the rear in a protective, prideful stance. The detective walked a few ways ahead of the both of you as you kept a slower pace, absorbing your surroundings, your eyes catching on pedestrians around you.

A phone call, a laughing child across the way, and as you followed the path away from the government building you steadied your breathing. Foot traffic gathered through this place, it made an excellent short cut to restaurants, stores, pawn shops and office buildings alike. It was a hub for not only a stroll but a pleasant, faster way to get to a destination without even having to drive. At one point working down here seemed nice, but now that you were dropped smack dab in the middle of it.. it made you feel uneasy. Your anxiety was noted, and you felt a soft stroke along the warmth of your chest, an inky tendril settling your nerves to allow you to breathe deeply to let it out in a slow, focused push.

The lich at your back had an obvious limp in his gait, but most were too busy looking upwards at his facial features. Those horrid cracks in his porcelain skin were always an eye catcher, hence the reason why he preferred to wear a turtleneck to cover the massive scar hiding just underneath. It was easy to just flick his focus into the eyes, into the soul, of onlookers to startle them from fixation and look away with submission.. a feat that was hard to do when the call of his neck was glaring them all in the face. Even so, he preferred to be the cause of attention over the woman walking before him. They hardly took notice of her, it satisfied him.

After a few minutes of following the detective he turned to look over his shoulder at you, gathering your attention and you padded a few feet forward to listen as he began speaking quietly to you. The lich was left behind, but it didn’t matter. No one dared to cross in front of him and he continued to take in his surroundings with a cautious eye. He absentmindedly tuned in to your conversation, speaking lightly of what to be prepared for in the meeting but it was of no real concern to the scientist. Then, out of nowhere, he felt an internal, instinctual tug.

He slowed his steps, turning his attention up ahead to the building they were meant to enter. They were still about two hundred yards away, but a quick movement caught his eye as a man rounded the side of the brick and out of view. His sockets began to narrow, it had been some human in a t-shirt and there was too much movement, sound and tastes in the air to properly diagnose the situation. Though, the simple fact that this creature had ducked in the opposite direction, away from him, spoke volumes enough.

He felt the compulsion to leave the path, to stalk the edge of the building after the odd, fleeing behavior, but was stopped as he heard his name. Quickly, he flicked his gaze back towards you and the detective who were standing right in front of the building’s entrance, he had been standing there, a few yards off, still as stone and staring off in the distance.

“You all right, G?” you asked calmly, trying to not draw further attention to the odd way he was behaving. A heavy stone rolled in your gut, you had hoped he had shrugged off this feral behavior, not fueled anymore by some strange need to kill. Even as the lich subtly nodded to you, closing the distance with a well-paced gait, you took note of how he gave the corner of the building another side glance.

Briggs waited until the scientist came up to your back, sheltered within the front archway of the building, away from eavesdroppers, he spoke carefully, “remember, let’s not get into the details of what happened at the warehouse. As far as they’re concerned all of those parties have been dealt with, let’s focus on the future here- the future of both of you, all right?”

You nodded, an odd tug in your guts from him referring to the future of not only the lich, but you yourself. With that, the detective pulled open the front door, a soft breeze carrying through to your skin, smelling of artificial air. While you crossed the threshold, glancing around the empty front lobby, Briggs kept his focus on the lich who gave the side of the building another look before stepping forth and bowed his shoulders to dip inside himself.

The detective gave a quick glance in the direction that had been so interesting to the scientist, but found nothing, pedestrians went about their business just so all around. But there was no movement, no nothing, from the edge of the brick. He shrugged, twisted inside of the lobby and pulled the door closed behind him. The three of you made your way inside of the building, quietly chatting between yourself and the other man while Gaster shadowed your back.

Outside, pressed against the brick wall of the building, stood a wide, amber eyed man. His wallet was filled with new cash from the meager belongings he had to pawn from across the street, thinking the office complexes of the capitol would be a fine short cut to make it back to Jared’s old apartment. He never, in his wildest dreams, would have thought he would see that massive, agile backed creature ever again. And it nearly saw him.

Shaking, he stayed leaned against the brick at his clammy back, trying to not hyperventilate from those white eyes having trailed his impulsive jump behind the building he had just been rounding. The talk of the warehouse from that other man, the mere mention of this beast getting to be snug in society, was too much to bear. He had to get out, he had to leave, he couldn’t wait any longer. His fingertips gripped into the grout behind him, his nails grinding into the course stone painfully before he gathered enough courage to push himself forward and quickly stole away back around the building.

Taking the long way around would have to do, his lucky was starting to run out and he could feel the sand of his hour glass starting to run dry while his heels dug into the concrete below. Whisking himself away to the detour route back to the apartment, three hundred and fifty dollars would have to be enough to grab a bus and the nearest plane ticket out of this decrepit city. Before the lich caught another whiff of him, otherwise, it would all be over.

 


	29. The Judgement of Humanity and a Lich's Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rules are set in place for the lich, and the bullet points are less than savory. 
> 
> Then, the undead monsters confront a coward whose luck has run out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has taken me so long to write.   
> Through three medication changes I have worked on this chapter, trying to get it just right, trying to just work on it and get it finalized. The finale is so close now, you guys. This trip has been so good and this entire project is something I'm extremely proud of as a writer. I wanted to do you guys right by taking the time to polish and smooth out as much as possible. So, now, I bring you 32 pages for one chapter. I toss and turned about the contents of this piece, rewrote segments over and over until it clicked. 
> 
> All I can say now is.. Enjoy, and thank you for your patience and unrelenting support. <3

The walk through the building was relatively pleasant, albeit odd. There was no sign of life as the detective lead you quietly through the halls. He banked, lead you through twists and turns in the old office space that was sparsely decorated. Once upon a time, it may have been space for a private company or perhaps even just an area for local officials to have their own offices, but now it seemed more as a front. Sure, there were fake plants, desks, filing cabinets.. but most of the desks were missing computers, or chairs. It wasn’t very tactful to say the least, and you couldn’t help the slight pull of your lips as you strolled through a long hallway. If they wanted this place to seem indiscreet wouldn’t it be better to hide in plain sight, amidst the raucous of a living staff? The marks upon your neck seemed to agree, lightly twitching against the soft curve of your shoulder.

With the length of the corridor coming to an end, the detective gave you a soft glance as he reached for the handle and pressed down. He paused, waiting for you to look at him curiously with the lich standing tall at your back, “I’m.. not sure what you should be expecting in here to be honest with you. These big wigs settle on some pretty weird things, so don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard. Alright?”

You nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow as you carefully replied, “okay.. it’s not like anyone listens to me anyways, but I’m sure they’ll listen to G-”

“Hey now..” he breathed, the lever of the door lifting slightly beneath his palm. He looked you straight in the eyes, “I’m sure this will also have an effect on you as well. I know for the past few weeks you’ve felt.. babysat-” the look you gave him was confirmation enough of that, and he continued with a sheepish grin, “-and I apologize for that. I know now that you have a strong heart, stronger than the ones that are going to be sitting across the table from you in a few minutes.”

Briggs grew a confident smile, his dark eyes twinkling, “trust me, Sunshine. You don’t have to compromise if you don’t want to. This is your life too, and the only one that should have a say in that is yourself.”

You stared at him for a moment, digesting his words while the heat radiating from the lich’s broad chest pressed into your back. Then, you nodded, returning a gentle smile of your own. The detective then murmured, pressing back down on the handle, “you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be..” you replied, watching the detective pull his eyes away to the golden oak door just as you breathed a soft, “thank you..”

His smile grew and he then pressed forth on the door, the wooden slab giving way to a careful swing inward to which soft voices then graced the three of you. You heard the lich release a rather deep puff of air from his lungs as you stepped forward, following after the man in front of you to a rather large conference room. The shadow at your back stepped in tandem with you, protective and dominating.

The first thing you saw when the detective stepped to the side, addressing the few individuals on the other side of the room, was Sans. He sat at the end of the table, facing the door. His jaw was propped up on a bony hand, his sockets closed and figure slouched, dozing. Without a word you carefully stepped up to the long table, bringing a hand forward to quietly rap your knuckles on the hardwood below while the gentlemen far to the right of you began to speak in casual introductions. At first, the skeleton didn’t move, but then came his voice.

“who’se there?” he drawled.

“Mustache..” you grinned, casting a side glance at the detective who was speaking to three men in business attire, though they were staring directly at you. Well, more like they were staring at Gaster, who returned the courteous gesture with a piercing gaze of his own.

“mustache who..?” the skeleton asked, shifting slightly as he held back a yawn, keeping his sockets closed and posture limp.

“I _mustache_ you a question, but it seems as if you’re busy napping.. so I’ll _shave_ it for later.”

He begun to chuckle, softly at first, but it eventually stirred him to lift his head from his hand. With the flick of his eye sockets, he peered outwardly at you with his bright, round eyes. His neutral grin tugged into a deeper smile while your eyes met. You lifted your hand in a careful wave, oblivious to the stares going on between the lich at your back and the men on the other side of the room.

“nah, I ain’t busy kid.. shoot.”

You gave a side glance across the room, your heart skipping a beat with anxiety as you found the four men staring directly at you. The lich at your back found it incredibly irksome, and without a word he slipped from behind you to approach them. With each step he took, his formidable energy graced the open space and the older men shifted uncomfortably, shying their focus to the detective who cleared his throat and quietly began introducing the scientist. You took this opportunity to look back at Sans, who slowly panned his white eyes back to your own just as the lich came to a halt just beside Briggs.

Speaking softly, with a light smile, you asked, “I thought everyone else was supposed to be here too?”

He gently nodded, lifting his free hand with a shrug of his shoulder, “they were. That part of the meetin’ is done, been here since early this mornin’.”

“Oh, so I guess everyone else decided the talking points about us.. without us actually being here?” you couldn’t help but feel anger rise into your heart, you fully fed up with the games concerning the scientist. You honed in on Sans as he gave a gentle chuckle, lifting his head from his hand while murmuring continued back and forth from the corner of the room.

“I know kiddo.. but just look at em over there-” he flicked his white eyes to the corners of his sockets, getting you to follow suit to witness just how massive Gaster was compared to everyone else, and he stood with an ill respite for the men in the room before him. He was intimidating, difficult to work with, if you could get him to cooperate at all.

“-doc’s got no chill.”

Sans had a point, and you sighed in defeat despite your irritation.

“he stirred a lotta trouble for the city, it’s been causin’ issues left and right and we’ve been runnin’ around tryin’ to control it all. we managed to keep it all hush-hush, but we won’t be able to keep doin’ it.”

“Yeah.. I don’t particularly like his tendencies either, you know.” You murmured, giving the skeleton one final look to which he just shrugged again, his eyelids drooping against his deep, sheepish smirk.

“well, better join the party..” Sans muttered beneath a drug out exhale, an odd, prickling feeling starting to swell within the black marks upon your neck, “seems like he has less patience than usual.”

You rolled your eyes, unable to help how your lips turned into a rather playful grin. The lich had possibly the most patience out of anyone you had ever met, but only because of how purely stubborn he was. Slipping from the table, you allowed your fingertips to linger on the cold, polished surface as you stepped along its length towards the group of men. Gaster didn’t even have to look to notice your approach, he parted the way for you, turning his body ever so slightly to allow you to slip within the circle and stand just before the monster. Your eyes curiously panned over the men before you, catching the tail end of the detective’s words as he then introduced you.

He used your full name, which was strange but you understood the necessity. You held your hand out for the first man closest to you, they all were similar in age and dress but you could instantly tell who was the ‘leader’ of this gathering. The first man, Bill Stein, shook your hand with a polite, somewhat firm grip. The second, Seth Stockton, actually looked you straight in the eyes, but his smile was forced. The third, Austin Tiegs was closest to detective Briggs, gave a stoic face that matched well with the lich’s and he was the only one to speak to you. His inflections were stern, serious and yet velvety.

“We have heard a lot about you, miss. Your friends seem to care about you very much, they speak highly of you.”

You weren’t phased by this attempt at getting you to open up, you’ve been through enough of this damsel in distress bullshit. In response, you flashed him a coy grin, retracting your hand to stand tall and proud before the lich who wore a bored, disinterested expression. Still, his eyes drifted downward as you spoke, confident- albeit if a bit snippity, “we care about them a lot as well. It’s nice to meet all of you.”

The man gave a curt nod, bringing his attention up to the being at your back, who stared at him with a hidden malice. Gaster gave off a hardened, oppressive energy that you were used to.. but these men did not seem to appreciate his unnatural power. Still, Bill gestured with his hand to the table and invited everyone to sit on this far end. Sans was still down across the table, but when everyone pulled out their chairs he suddenly appeared, snapped into reality just beside Seth, who sat across from you. It startled the man, and he gave a burdened sigh as he sat down. The skeleton just leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets and seemed rather pleased with himself.

There you were, sitting cross legged beside the lich who kept his chair out from the desk, crossing an ankle up onto his knee and gazed outward across the table while detective Briggs sat on the other side of the looming monster. You were reminded of times in school, sitting across from the principle, being scolded for misbehavior on your part. Though, there was no shame, no embarrassment.. not now, anyways. Perhaps if this had been weeks prior, your nervousness would have taken over, but no.. not now. Not after all of the prodding, the manipulation, the pity, the disrespect to your person, after all of these weeks. Not after the loss, and retribution you had gone through with the lich. He was a silent strength, and while his body radiated power, yours grew steadily within your very soul.. disguised as a gentle, innocent woman. This was a game that would possibly never change, for the rest of your life, and so you now had to play the role. It was pointless to try fighting this stigma, you’d have to use it to your own advantage now.

Luckily, there was no hesitation, and just as everyone settled in Briggs spoke up, garnering the attention of the room. “This morning we addressed the.. video evidence of your abilities, Doctor. We discussed at length the main issues the city has, and we will be speaking with you directly on the main topics the royal family has agreed with.”

The lich didn’t respond, he held his features blankly, but you blinked curiously at the detective, watching how he shifted in his seat to pull out his small notebook and slapped it down onto the table. He then turned his attention to the gentlemen across the table, and Sans. “He knows, as do we all, how serious his magic is.. and while I have been working on the cases coinciding with Doctor Gaster’s person, and have seen firsthand, in multiple instances, the supernatural and heinous ability he holds.. I will flat out say, again, in witness of both the Doctor, and that young lady at his side, that self-defense was the case closing reason behind all charges on his behalf.”

You blinked wildly at that, while Gaster held no reaction what-so-ever. Even as Briggs flipped open his notes, and continued, “turns out we have a confession, from each and every person detained, on their motive and explicit planning against the Doctor.”

“To our knowledge, there is still one last suspect that has evaded your officers, isn’t that right?” Seth asked, staring directly at the detective who nodded with a sigh.

“So far, but we have had sightings of this person and know where he is now. There are plans for an arrest later today.” The pages beneath the detective’s plump fingers whispered as he shuffled through them, coming to a halt on a specific page, and that caught the lich’s attention. Instantly, his white eyes flicked onto the page and the words _‘Jake Evans’_ seared into his mind. The skeleton noticed this behavior right off the bat, and stared casually at the scientist, ingesting his suddenly fixation. Whatever was on that page, was being copied word for word within that scientist’s mind. It wasn’t good, and Sans knew exactly what he was reading.

The lich went unnoticed by everyone else at the table, including you. Still, you knew this was a bad subject and immediately spoke up, looking across the panel before you even though Sans kept staring off into space, “so if he’s been cleared of everything.. what else do we need to discuss?”

“Quite a few things, young lady,” the Austin articulated, staring you straight in the eye while the monster was motionless beside you. You had a feeling this man was going to be the most aggressive one to deal with, and as he continued to speak you had to struggle to keep your calm, confident aura.

“While he may have been pardoned, due to long hours of discussion between the royal family, the detective, and ourselves.. there are still limitations that must be set. It’s apparent that this man is causing terrorism simply by scaring the citizens-”

“That’s not fair,” you snorted, leaning forward to set your elbows on the table and glowered to the man, who was quick in his rebuttal.

“What else would you call it then, if not terrorism?” Austin continued to press, his expression hardened, serious.

You immediately replied, feeling your energy bristle just beneath the surface of your skin, “it’s not his fault that there are racists in the city, who are just scared because they don’t know any better. It’s because of him, and not humanity, that those fallen, sick monsters got to go home instead of dying because people like _you_ put them in camps. He has never done anything to cause mass hysteria, or fear, on purpose besides just existing.”

Your anger was boiling again, and you knew it, but couldn’t help the words that were spilling forth, the men before you simply listening as you finished, “he has every right to be here, on the surface with his people, and he _certainly is no terrorist!_ ”

Briggs cleared his throat, nodding along with your statement and turned in his chair, facing more towards you with the lich leaving plenty of space in front of him for you two to make eye contact, “he does. But unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. It is one thing to defend yourself.. another entirely to have the ability to raise the dead, to call the souls of everyone in a five block radius. Some things are going to have to be set in place, to keep the balance between the royal family and all life here in the city.. ”

At that, you had no other choice but to swallow and nod. It seemed as if the committee before you had already hammered out the main points of discussion, all that was left was to serve them to the scientist.. and they then begun without any further hesitation. Leaving you no time to try to save face, or simmer your apparent agitation.

“Doctor,” Austin began again, sitting across from Briggs with a stern look on his face as he leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table. The lich slowly panned his gaze from the detective’s book, upward into the man’s eyes and you could already feel the pressure of his magic swell against your soul. With the lich’s full attention, he continued, “your services to your people have been acknowledged, and spoken of in great detail. We won’t discuss your success any further than necessary, and have decided to keep the health facility in your control.”

Gaster remained silent, seeming to listen despite the unblinking gaze driving straight into the man diagonally across the table from him, “one of the things that we request, is that you not only treat monster soul ailments.. but humans as well. Your knowledge of this area is important to the city, this new science is beyond us at this current point in time, and will pay you well for your future endeavors as long as they meet the National Scientific Ethical Guidelines that have been forwarded to your associates.”

The lich remained motionless, as did the detective, while Bill then spoke carefully, the skeleton continuing to stare off idly past you just beside the man, “which means you must give lifesaving treatments to any and all, with or without insurance or forms of being able to pay. Human, or monster. This includes the responsibility of not putting any citizen through unnecessary testing, or doing anything without explicit consent of the patient. If you fail to do this, every step you take will have to be approved by us.”

At this, the lich’s gaze hardened, his eyes slowly narrowing to a more frigid expression. You could tell he hated guidelines, or being told what to do. But you just nodded, baring the full weight of the newly given rules without any pause. These guidelines didn’t seem horrid, in fact they were rather practical.. and you internally sighed in relief to know that there would be repercussions of any over the top behavior he displayed in his work. He needed these barriers, an artificial conscious was being set up for him, and you knew he needed this whether he liked it or not. You didn’t want him to over step his boundaries, like what he did with Dennis and his soul.

Luckily, the men took your nod as approval from the lich, and then moved onto the next topic in which the Austin, of course, began to construct, “The second restriction you have been placed under is public notice. You seem to be known for your.. antisocial behavior, and that may translate incorrectly to the general public. It is highly recommended that we witness the interactions of peoples around you in a neutral atmosphere.”

This is when you spoke, curiously lifting an eyebrow, “what..? Like going to a park or something?”

Briggs garnered your attention as he cleared his throat, a soft smirk drawing across his lips while spoke, “we have dinner arrangements at eight o’clock tonight, there will be undercover persons in the restaurant to take note of how things go down. Not to worry, this isn’t a test on the Doctor’s behavior, but more on the other patrons. Comfort level, responses, etcetera.”

You found yourself biting into the side of your cheek absentmindedly. The thought made you nervous. You hated to be stared at in general, whispered about.. pecked at behind your back by strangers. Anxiety gnawed at your guts but you simply forced a smile and nodded. It was a weird request, but one that was also understandable. This wasn’t very appealing to the scientist beside you, whose dark energies prickled at the skin upon your neck.

You did your best to ignore this and grinned, “free dinner..? Well, can’t say no to that.”

Suddenly, Sans’ white eyes flicked onto you and he smiled a little brighter, ”gon’ be your favorite place, too.”

“Really-? And where is that?” you teased, feigning lightheartedness was becoming a tad easier as you spoke to the skeleton.

“sushi.”

All right, that made your soft smile genuine. It was expensive to have sushi, and with the bill being footed to the city.. well, it was all the better. Sans blinked, keeping his gaze focused solely on you, “we’re goin’ under the ‘guise of a celebration dinner for the full release of all the monsters in the hospital. me, you, doc, claire and alphys too, who are gon’ be there before we get there. all you gotta do is just act normal.”

“Sure thing,” you grinned, feeling a bit better about this whole situation.

So far, this wasn’t as scary as you originally thought. It seemed as if all the wrinkles and major arguing had already been done ahead of time, and for your sake you were thankful for that act of mercy. Plus, you were curious to see the lich hold chopsticks in those massive hands of his, that thought alone kept you smiling. You were sure he enjoyed the bits of sushi he had tried the last time, despite his lack of enthusiasm for the snack as he had been.. disgruntled then.

“There is something else of a more.. pertinent nature, to discuss next.” The man spoke again, drawing your attention, and even Sans’, as he flicked his gaze to the side rather quickly.

Briggs carefully thumbed across the pages of his notebook idly, staring across the table with a rather serious face. His fingers gathered the lich’s attention once more, seeming to almost glare at the words on the pages before the detective finally closed the booklet and breathed, “I don’t find that subject very appropriate, and we agreed to not follow it further-”

“It is necessary,” the man shot back, erasing the smile on your lips as you blinked and flicked your gaze across the men on the opposite side of the table. Bill seemed uncomfortable, Seth had a blank look on his face as he watched his companion gather his thoughts just beside him. Sans shirked down a little further in his seat, his neutral grin becoming a tad forced.

Austin gave a light hand gesture, splaying his hand out towards you while keeping eye contact with the detective, “the board knew of that.. bite mark, but seeing it in person drives the importance of this rather hard. It is something we cannot ignore-”

A sharp snort pressed between your teeth as you folded your arms and spoke up, “it’s utterly consensual, and is none of your business-”

He quickly took his gaze from Briggs and locked eyes with you. You weren’t intimidated, and stared back with an unblinking, matching face of the annoyed lich beside you. This didn’t halt the words having waited patiently on the Austin’s tongue, and he released them with a blunt coldness, “despite the Doctor’s tampered with physical assessment, we know that it is possible for humans and monsters to interbreed. We don’t need a blood, or magic, test to confirm it.”

Your heart jolted, all blood leaving your face as you stared at the gentlemen speaking to you. The skeleton’s smile wavered, and his jacket slipped further up around his cheekbones as he slumped hard in the chair. The lich remained quiet, but his full attention was on the man staring straight at you, his tongue beginning to roll and pivot behind his jaws in irritation. He knew where this was going, but you were blindsided.

“It is clear you are having sexual relations with this man, who is capable of raising the dead, the dismembered, and holds a natural power to be zealous with his motives.” You simply sat there, stunned into place, feeling the entire room’s eyes on the both of you while this man continued to speak, “if he were to sire any children, they would also hold very powerful abilities-” the skeleton slowly took his focus from the man beside him, across the table to the lich, who sat tall and intimidating with a deep scowl crossing his features, “-abilities that such a young person wouldn’t be able to control, a dangerous mixture.”

This topic was not what you had ever expected, and left you with your lips slightly parted, shock taking over your form and so you just sat there. Stupefied. Briggs found himself drawing a hand to his forehead, pinching the bridge of his nose as he rested his hand over the booklet, forced to listen to this reasoning all over again. Bill began to then speak, his voice was gentler than the others, “what my colleague is saying.. is that you still have all the freedoms as anyone else to have children, if you so desired- but the board would have to be informed, and guardianship would be forfeit to the city.”

This was just further fuel on the fire, and you were speechless while the skeleton murmured into the plush, white faux fur of his hoodie, “ya’ can’t do that.”

Briggs thrust his hand away from his face, glaring across the table at the men as he added in, “that means that the government could seize a newborn baby from its parents for no reason, that kind of control is not necessary-!”

Austin started to waver his stern appearance, drawing a hand up to point at the detective and growl, “we talked about this.”

Sans began to sweat nervously, trickles running down the edges of his spinal column as he shifted his gaze beside him to the ensuing argument. Briggs took his hand from the air, nailing his fist into the wood firmly as he spat in reply, “and the King found it ridiculous, just as I do, and this young woman sitting before you. You can’t have that kind of control over her, or her family.”

“If there is nothing to worry about, as you say, then nothing will come of it- It is merely a precaution-“

At this you scoffed, snapped from your stupor from sheer disgust, “for what? Having control over a little kid-? So if I were pregnant, you’d have control over my body too?!”

“Are you-?” the man shot back, silencing the raucous in the room as all eyes turned on you.

Silence flooded the room, the chairs subtly creaking as the men positioned to better ogle at you. A flush took over your features quickly, a visible chill running down your spine as you shook your head, further dew drops gathering on Sans’ clearly uncomfortable expression, “w-what-? N-no!”

“Ma’am, we need to know this things-“

 _“I am not-!”_ you struggled, your fingertips digging into your arms as a pink tinge took hold of your skin. You were oblivious to the glance the lich was giving you, studying your apparent discomfort and it only began to boil his blood. His tongue pressing hard enough against the backs of his fangs to scratch the inky, dark tendril.

The detective intervened, a growl wavering in his voice as a very real one threatened to form within the lich himself, “this discussion is highly insensitive and inappropriate!”

Quickly, Austin responded, anger tinging on his words as Seth just bowed his head and ran a hand back through his short hair, “it may be an uncomfortable topic, but it is one with weight! Who knows if a human woman could live through such a process with an undead monster, and a lich at that-!”

Unable to conceal your frustration, the volume in the room just continued to rise as you barked, “ _excuse me_ -!? G would never hurt me, and I trust him far more than I do any of you-”

This seemed to snap Seth’s temper, who jerked his head up and stared you in the eye as he retorted bitterly, “I’m sure being so small in comparison to this man is a pleasant, pain-free, experience on its own, isn’t it?”

Your jaw dropped, Sans tucked further into his jacket, sweat visibly beading over his skull while a quite literal fluttering took hold within his ribcage. The detective snarled as his lips parted, nearly forming angry words in response when the lich suddenly stood. He was swift, and brash, the chair being kicked out beneath him and to the floor with a hearty thudding. His hands then slammed down onto the table, shaking the wood to the core as he loomed forth across the desk at the men across from him. A deep, dark growl wavered into his speech, and he was slow about his verbiage, carefully choosing each, and every, word.

“I find your lack of respect for her, and myself, distasteful. If there were ever a time I’d wish to sow my seed, it would be now. Upon this very table, with her mewling beneath me in the purest, painful ecstasy. There would be absolutely nothing any of you could ever do to deter me, my will, my Lordship, over her.”

You felt the blood leave your face again, sitting very, very awkwardly as the markings upon your neck bristled and twitched against your flesh. All you could do was sit there, and stare upwards at the massive monster beside you. Sweat began to form on the back of your neck as he continued to speak, the very ebb and flow of his speech startling the room into utter stillness as he continued, a snarl tinging on his tongue with a flash of fangs sparking between his lips at every syllable. The moth hidden inside of Sans’ jacket was skittering angrily, and if he had any flesh to bite, he surely would have felt the sting. Not only was the lich’s voice heavy, but it tremored through the air and caused the lights to flicker from the weight of his power.

“Your petty rules are nothing to me. If there is a day where she swells with child, I will be her sole provider, and there will not be an inkling of influence from this pathetic excuse of men displayed before me. Conception, pregnancy, and delivery will all be in my control, and the rearing of the child will be left to that of her own chosen devices. Dare to come between me, my authority, my.. Family.. And I will be a plague unto you and _your_ families, my wrath will be her Justice. Your blood will be the signature of this contract I speak, and I will revel in its crimson ink. A fit punishment to dare tread upon my natural right as a creature on this Earth.”

With this, he slowly straightened up once more, his claws scratching the surface of the glossy wood while his eyes continued to stare straight into the heart and souls of the men before him. The lights above began to slowly even back out, the gentle buzzing of their bulbs the only sound in the room for a few moments. They all were aghast, stunned speechless from the dark reverberations having flooded the room with his echoed voice fading to a serious, firm, condition, “to me, this discussion is over. This is not up for debate, and never shall be. Do not dare me to prove my claims, for I shall, and not even the King will be able to do anything against my will.”

The lich then turned his attentions towards you, the heat radiating from his body caressing your own as he lifted a clawed, knuckled hand and gingerly swept the locks of hair having fell in front of your embarrassed, stunned features. Tenderly, he tucked your bangs to the side. While you pulled your gaze from the lich across the desk towards the men before you, who sat in a shocked silence. Gently, the lich spoke against your cold sweat, “I have important matters to attend to, I shall see you for the circus thrown for pigs later tonight, my darling.”

With that, he left you, a clawed knuckle affectionately brushing over your cheek as he walked from the room. His presence swept the entire room, who followed his farewell with glossy stares. All, but for Sans. Suddenly, the skeleton popped from his chair, standing just behind it as the doors shut closed behind the scientist. Without hesitation the skeleton chirped, “it’s all right, I’ll go on after him.”

It took you a moment to shake what just happened, the lich’s words echoed in your head, bouncing around with such a sincerity that it startled you to the core. Even as you watched Sans easily skirt around the desk, slipping through the door to have it click shut behind him, you still felt.. confused, dizzy even. He was hardly ever a man of many words, and his paragraphs about explicit breeding and dangerous threats to these men was a hard pill to swallow.

Finally, after a few moments, the detective cleared his throat and looked to you, feeling flushed himself from the intensity of the exchange, “what.. uh.. what did he say?”

You swallowed dryly, turning to meet his apprehensive expression as you slowly, weakly, answered, “uhm.. he said, _‘No.’_ ”

***

“that was a nice show in there, doc,” Sans muttered, striding alongside the lich who wore a bored expression once more, “pretty graphic, stunned ‘em all good. though I doubt they know exactly what ya’ said..”

There was no response, but this didn’t dissuade the skeleton as they rounded the corridor and made their way to the front entrance, “i know what you’re doin’, doc.”

“You shall not stop me, Sans. There is no use for you to shadow me.” The lich muttered, his warbled voice translating easily through the magic in a moth situated within Sans’ ribcage. It had been there all day, during the meeting held beforehand.. and the lich knew exactly what had transpired. He simply took the chance, the opportunity, to finally end the debacle that was this ‘meeting’. If he had to sit through another second of bickering and ‘rule placement’ he would have pulled out his flask. Humans were always overstepping their boundaries, and anger continued to grind at the back of his skull as he walked side by side with the skeleton. Humans were good for nothing, they could not finish the simplest of tasks.. so it was up to him, and he enjoyed tying loose ends.

“i know i can’t stop ya..” Sans replied, his strained expression fading as the gentle breeze of moving around cooled his bones. “but I might as well come along, you’ll draw too much attention anyways.. and I don’t particularly like the idea of this guy gettin’ off free.”

“Hmnn,” the scientist mused, and just before they reached the door, they vanished, together.

 

***

 

Jake fumbled with the keys to the flat, his hands were trembling, cold sweat on the back of his neck. He had pawned all the items that he could to gather enough funds for a one-way plane ticket, all he had to do now was make it to the subway station and onto his flight off of the continent. He had an uncle in Wales, it was the only place he could go, one where not even a lich could find him. A monster that he saw die, that should have been the end of things.. But no, either all of his friends were now dead.. or arrested. They had ratted him out too, especially Dennis. After everything he did for that kid, and now this. It was the choice between his life, or life in prison.. to which he pardoned himself for the third option, running.

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away and shoved off down the hall to the stair case. The Police had been patrolling this building, staking him out. It didn’t go unnoticed to the man, and he knew it was now or never. They were about to make their move, but he had the ball in his court and as he descended the staircase he decided to take no risks. He had left the lights on in the apartment, insinuating someone was there, which would waste the detective’s time. An extra three minutes could mean the difference between success and failure, everything had gone near perfectly under his and Jared’s leadership, he would be able to escape if he kept his wits and shook his nervousness. And, to be extra secure, he had bought a handgun. Tucked it within the belt of his jeans, just against his stomach. He couldn’t afford a very nice one, it was low caliber and well-worn but it would do the job as a last resort.

With a careful push of the front door, he left the building, and thus his old life, far behind him. He drew the hood of his dark jacket, flinging the apartment keys out of his hand with an idle flick of his wrist that sent the glimmering metal clattering into a decorative bush. He kept his head down, but those amber eyes cast every which way as he turned and walked forward along the sidewalk, melting into a group of other pedestrians that gave him no notice. As he walked, he gained confidence. He was giddy, and anxious. A unnatural excitement that was only enhanced by how the cool metal rubbed against his bare stomach, well hidden beneath his loose pull over.

Though, his confidence waned as a person in a blue hoodie sauntered up at his side, the wearer of such a jacket was short, and the article itself was rather suited for winter with soft faux fur lining the edges of its drawn hood, masking the figure within. Jake tried to not pay any mind to this individual, but found it odd how closely they had decided to walk beside him and flicked his ember gaze to the side, only catching shadows upon a smooth, pale face.

“pretty warm outside tonight, ain’t it pal?”

“Sure,” he replied, swallowing as a knot began to weave in his gut. He kept face, however, and responded casually, “maybe a bit too warm for thick jackets, right?”

The figure shrugged, a light chuckle easing Jake’s anxiety, “i prefer comfort, weather don’t bother me none.”

“Ah, I guess you could say we have similar tastes then.” He mused, turning his focus in front of him, side stepping slower strangers but the blue jacket would quickly appear right in his peripheral vision once more. He wasn’t going to be able to shake this guy more than he could lose his own shadow, which oddly wavered behind him as a black moth danced through the air after them.

This pulled another soft laugh from the man beside him, who matched his rising pace as they neared the end of the street, one crosswalk was the only thing between him and the subway which was located just beyond. Jake refused to become unsettled, acting weird would be an instant red flag to anyone that was watching him. It wasn’t too uncommon for strangers to strike up a conversation with him, people around here were rather talkative. So long as this person didn’t see his face, it would just be a friendly chat, and nothing more.

“do we?” the stranger asked.

The question was odd, and made the man take pause as the crosswalk ahead of him blinked to a red, obvious halt. A soft sigh left his lips, forced to slow his stroll to a complete halt amidst the crowd of other humans, and nonhumans. The others around them kept to themselves, chatting on their phones or simply looking about the city streets, but the person beside him.. he stood uncomfortably close. In a strange way, they were alone in plain sight.

“Not sure I understand the question there.. “ Jake rambled, flicking his focus out across the crowd as the man beside him slowly turned to look upwards at him. An eerie sensation fell upon his heart, his very soul, he pretended to be fixated on something across the street as the individual then replied.

“what sort of things do you like, besides unfitting clothing?” there was a silence, the softest brush of a moth’s wings against the man’s shoulder blade as the man at his side continued playfully, “just to see if we have similarities or not, i bet i can guess your top three.” The light hearted air to his words did little to soothe Jake’s nerves, but he kept a level head as he thought. He would prefer this person to leave him alone, but the timer on the crosswalk clock still had half a minute remaining. What was the harm?

“Alright stranger, only if I can guess three things about you as well. To make it fair.” He replied confidently, keeping in track with a light hearted theme. The mask he always went to, for it was the easiest to hold up despite how stressed or uneasy he felt.

The figure chuckled, nodding carefully beneath his hood, the fabric whispering against his skull in a light rustle before he began to speak, “you enjoy long walks out in the city.”

A slight smirk tugged at Jake’s lips, and he couldn’t suppress the puff of air that escaped his lungs in a laugh, “why do you say that?”

“your shoes-“ the remark slowly erased his gleeful expression, “-really worn, only a bit of dirt on ‘em. must be from walkin’.. or, maybe.. _runnin’_.”

There was an eerie undertone to his statement, and all Jake could do was dryly swallow, staring straight across the walk way, begging for the timer to run out faster. The man at his side didn’t seem to enjoy the purposeful silence and asked casually, “am I right?”

“You got me,” he chuckled sheepishly, his nervousness fitting into the gesture quite well, “I also like long walks on the beach and margaritas.”

The tinge of humor added to his verbiage which did not go unnoticed to the figure at his side who chuckled to himself. He had hoped for the figure to take his time thinking of his next question, but it wasn’t to be as he quickly then said, “you’re movin’, outta the city.”

It was a statement. The sign turned green, the people around them starting to press forward but Jake hesitated. He had the urge to look at the man beside him, but decided to instead step forward and follow the flow of those around them. His tongue wetted his lips before he dutifully nodded, keeping the friendly mood to his speech, “see me throw my keys, eh? Yeah, that place had the worst rent anyways. Figured I’ve had enough of city life.”

Internally, he cringed, he didn’t want to spill too much information, but it wasn’t as if this person would ever call him on his words or not. Jake wanted to hurry along the asphalt, but the streets were pretty crowded, and as he tried to push past the person in front of him, a rather large moth tumbled through the air just past his nose. The movement startled him, and he shirked back, nearly grumbling to himself as he marched alongside his new friend that was eager to speak up just as their sneakers hit the sidewalk.

“yer’ not a human.”

This truly dumbfounded Jake. The man furrowed his brow, even with his hood drawn and figure distorted, his hands were clearly visible, unlike the man beside him. It was clearly obvious that he was a human, the mention he was mistaken for a monster made his stomach sour.

“Tcht, only one you got wrong there, buddy,” he breathed, the crowd finally breaking for him to make his way forward to the steps down into the subway, beneath the city streets. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the figures destination as well, and as they reached the steps together, Jake felt his anxiety peak while the man then went on.

“you must be good at pretendin’, then. yer turn, if you’re still up for it, pal.”

“Yeah, sure-“ he forced a grin, jerking his head to the side while his feet fell heavy down the concrete steps. The skin of this person was rather pale, but he was short enough, and had a large enough hood that he couldn’t see his features. It irked Jake. He didn’t bother to watch his feet, his shadow distorting and oddly lifting from the rough surface beneath the soles of his shoes to trace and wrap around his ankle. The man turned his focus towards the blue jacket wearing, nosy figure at his side, his lips forming the words as his sharp breath articulated.

“You’re a-“ There was a sudden pull on his leg, easily slipping his footing against the step and shoved him forward. His breath was taken straight from his lungs, as if the devil himself stole away with it. The ground pivoted, and while he began to fall his eyes locked onto the figure beside him, the waning sunlight silhouetted perfectly along the edges of his thick, winter coat. The white, faux fur bordering the edges of the hood shimmered in golden light, softly swaying in the breeze. Within the frame of lithe softness, rested the navy hued, shadowed expression of someone all too familiar. Round face, a certain smile, pitch black sockets.

_“-a skeleton-!”_

Gravity took hold, and just as Jake’s feet both left the step, his body twisting downward, Sans shot forward and gripped onto the man’s hoodie. His bony fingers wove and interlaced within the rather thin fabric, his facial features leering dangerously close just as his left socket burst with a bright blue light. A soft shower of sparks twisted down between them as the skeleton’s smirk hiked all the higher, his hood lightly dancing against his porcelain face as they were held in a moment in time. Jake’s heart gave a hard, reverberating pang, translating into his expression which devolved into pure horror at the monster diving after him. He _should_ have recognized him, he _should have known_.

Quietly, almost at a whisper, the skeleton murmured, “the name’s sans.”

Then, darkness came crashing down on the both of them. Gravity had wrapped its wretched hands around his body and threw him into an abyss. All that remained was the fearsome glow of the skeleton’s left eye, ablaze in light with a shimmering yellow core that pulsated rapidly. Jake tried to cry out, but no sound came, only the deafening silence of the void welcomed him. As the skeleton glared downward into the man’s horrified gaze, his jacket whipping his bones violently, he found resolution.

Judgement day had come all too soon for this man, but not soon enough.

***

The meeting itself lasted for longer than you had hoped. The men were not too happy about your.. lack of a detailed response to G’s outburst. It left you rather fried, and exhausted. Luckily though, they had let go of the topic. It was almost infuriating how stubborn they were about you having children with the lich, a discussion that was way too personal, way too soon, to have with even your closest of friends. As you walked down the hallway, beside the detective who strolled at a leisurely pace, Briggs kept giving you side glances until you were finally around the corner and heading back to the lobby, out of ear shot.

“You did good,” he breathed, “I’m sorry this whole process has been so dramatic.”

You simply nodded, sighing and with a wave of your hand you replied, “that was probably the most awkward moment of my life.”

He tucked his hands within his slacks, breathing in before exhaling in a curious, “you worried..?”

“About what?” you asked, glancing over at him as he slowed his steps to a halt, just before the main lobby with the late afternoon sun shimmering through the glass.

“If you wanted a family, are you worried about that?”

“Oh..” you blinked, shyly lifting a hand to grip at your bicep as you shrugged, “I don’t know, I’ve never given it much thought before. Besides, G doesn’t want kids and I’m pretty sure that I don’t either.”

He watched you for a moment, and just before the silence became uncomfortable he gently spoke, “but that’s not what he said back there, is it?”

You lifted your gaze, locking eyes with the older man before you and felt another wave of rose tint rising into your cheeks. Briggs grinned, a light laugh riding through his throat as he went on, “he may seem like an impossible to read fellow.. but I’ve known men like him. Hard shell on the outside, but there is a softness somewhere in there, for some things. He’s a man that prefers privacy, that doesn’t mess around. Very cut and dry, very serious and work oriented. When we were working on the case, he was more adamant than my entire team put together. Poor Sans could hardly keep up with him.”

You shrugged, smiling a bit sheepishly as you turned your focus away to the lobby, watching the trails of dust tumble lithely through the air while the detective lowered his voice and spoke genuinely, “what I’m saying is.. is that he is more than protective, there is a real Love there.. that the both of you display, and I’m sorry for not seeing it sooner-” you opened your mouth to speak, keeping your gaze averted, but he simply continued, “-but in the future, if things work out in that way.. I’m sure you both would be great parents.”

Your flushing only became worse, your attention springing back to the detectives kind smile as he went on, “He may not be nurturing by nature, but don’t let that quiet disposition fool you.. He has gone to the ends of the Earth for his family, and came all the way back through sheer love and loyalty. That child would be in the safest, most secure home I’ve ever seen in all my years of work.”

A shy grin crossed your lips and you murmured, “yeah.. I’m sure G would be well known for being ‘scariest dad in known universe’.”

“Nonsense,” he shrugged, smile growing all the wider, “he would just be.. well acquainted with all the staff at that child’s school. Probably nearly best friends with the principle, even.”

A giggle left your lips at that, and the detective reached outward, placing his hand on your shoulder as his eyelids drooped, “don’t you worry about anything, miss. You have a choice, and will always have that choice. You have many friends on your side, and you have a lot of love all around you.”

You nodded, straightening up a bit as you let go of your arm and replied with sincerity, “thank you.. Carl. It’s good to know I’ve got a good friend such as yourself on our side.”

At that, the man smiled all the more, it was contagious and yours also grew. Though, this was when you heard the soft chatter of the gentlemen behind you. The detective cleared his throat, lightly patting your shoulder as you both turned and walked through the doors, side by side. But the smiles, those stayed on both of your faces.

The walk to the restaurant itself was rather nice, the day had cooled off and you hardly gathered any sort of attention in the city streets. The restaurant wasn’t that far off, and you enjoyed your time lightly chatting with the detective. Thankful for having more and more on your side, rather than working against you. It would be a constant struggle, but one you could handle with all of these friends both human and monster, on your side. Finally, a new chapter could begin, one without all the drama, the blood.. things could be, normal.

***

Suddenly, light.

Gravity continued to drag on Jake’s body, and with the help of a hard shove forward from the bony fist grabbing his hoodie, the man fell unceremoniously onto the cement beneath him. Landing in a heap, his hood was whisked right off of his head as his soft body cracked against the hard ground with a reverberating THUD. Luckily, the pistol remained wedged beneath his belt line, tucked against his belly securely. Movement churned in his vision, as he stared at the ceiling. Bugs, a lot of them. Flittering around the bright, buzzing lights above them. Where was he..?

Jake groaned, feeling nauseated and confused. The world had spun around him, swallowing him into a black abyss only to spit him back out onto the concrete. It took him but a moment to carefully sit up, pulling his gaze from the harsh light above to gather his bearings. His legs curled upwards to plant the soles of his shoes on the cement beneath him, metal biting into his gut from the bend, but he paid it no mind. Disoriented, and in shock, all he could do was gape at the monster hovering right before him. The skeleton stood tall, and still. He was glaring downward at him with pitch black sockets, the artificial lights above shadowing his facial features horribly and the only solid sight he received was that of a contoured smirk, stretched cheek to cheek.

“W-what do you want from me?” the man barked dryly, quickly flicking his pupils side to side, taking in the rectangular cement pillars, painted striping on the ground. A parking garage. Inhabited solely by the both of them.. and the moths that danced idly against the bright, mind numbing lights above.

“well, i doubt you were goin’ to turn yourself in.”

The undead being that stood before him slowly drew his hands back into the blue pockets of his jacket, the skeleton’s smirk idly twitching. He was digesting the expression Jake was giving him, the man had bags under his eyes, hair messy.. and he stunk. It was clear this man suffered for his actions, but not out of guilt. The opposite, in fact. He thought he would get away with it, with all of it and had been planning accordingly. It made Sans feel sick to his stomach, how people could be so cruel and unwilling to take responsibility for their actions.

Jake closed his mouth slowly, his jaw tense and nearly quivering as he pushed himself up from the ground, standing shakily as he wavered nervously. The moths above them were plentiful, and obnoxious. They tried to nest in the messy locks of his short hair, but Jake shooed them away with the light tossing of his hand and glowered downward at the skeleton, “I get it, you’re just a pawn of that thing, aren’t you? You were kidnapping people who dislike monsters infesting _our_ city and doing god knows what-!”

Sans chuckled, shaking his head while his hoodie continued to silhouette his facial features, “one person you knew disappeared, that’s it.”

“Because you-!” he flung his hand forward, pointing explicitly at Sans who slowly raised his head, the blanket of shadow trickling backward to expose his eye sockets fully. The monster looked sickly, close to a human’s anatomy but not quiet. It halted Jake’s words, and he stuttered to silence as his breath caught in his throat.

“i didn’t kill Robert.” He announced.

The moths above flittered with unease against the luminescent bulbs above them. Their movements going unheeded by Jake, who refused to break eye contact with the monster before him even as the farthest shadows of the garage seemed to be creeping inward. Anxiety was becoming clear to the man, for his hands trembled and he smiled nervously. Sans kept his gaze unwavering and he stood rather tall despite the rugged lines beneath his eyes, he was familiar with this moment.. familiar with being the Judge. Familiar with hearing excuses, and denial.

“You know what-“ Jake laughed, drawing a hand to his dew ridden brow, “-I don’t even care right now, I have a flight to catch so, see you _never_. You fucking freak.” With that said, he quickly turned, rounding to nearly crash into a tall figure draped in black. At first, he paused, only being able to stare at the broad chest eye level with him, but then as his gaze drifted upwards.. he back pedaled.

Fear gripped his throat, his amber eyes wide in disbelief. Around this figure, milky smooth shadows slithered across the hard, cold concrete while the creatures above fluttered wildly above their master. The lich’s hard, piercing gaze was grave and enraptured Jake. Hard lines also crossed beneath the monster’s eyes, heavy grey tones leading into the black sclera’s of his sockets which further contrasted his reflective, white iris’. His pupils were mere pin pricks, and they bore through Jake like hot iron skewers. The thin, fine line of his lips held such an edge of seriousness that truly brought the situation crashing down onto the man who nearly stumbled over himself during his slow retreat.

The man’s tongue brushed his teeth, mouthing repeatedly, “no.. n-no..”

Sans stood still and resolute behind Jake, observing how he was being crushed beneath the intensity of the lich’s energy and pestilent leer. He was so engulfed in the scientist’s loathing, that he did not even feel the soft little patters of moth wings against the back of his hoodie. The man nearly backed up against the skeleton, who let out a rather loud sigh to alert him of just how close he was getting. It stopped Jake in his tracks, whipping his head over his shoulder for just a brief moment before jerking it forward once more to take in the massive lich standing across from him, hands at his lower back.

Jake had only the pleasure of seeing the lich like this one other time, at the apartment.. when he was _smelling_ him. Now, in the artificial light, encased in concrete, the true deathly hollow appearance of this monster was showcased. Gaster stood still, rather collected despite how heavy the air became. It was bitter on the man’s tongue and twisted his guts into knots. Despite the monster’s porcelain skin and rigid facial features contrasting with the ever encroaching shadows, he belonged within them. As if by just sheer nature they spawned the demon, rebirthed him. A God in his own right. Immortal, unnatural.. Evil.

“you coulda just been in jail with your friends, pal. but i’ve a feelin’ you don’t think what you did is deserving of a sentence.. figurin’ you’re runnin’, got a plane to catch with nothin’ besides the clothes on your back.”

“N-no, wait a minute-!” he exclaimed exasperated, petrified.

“you had all those weeks to turn yourself in, to choose to quit.. but ya didn’t.”

The lich remained where he was, his piercing gaze boring right through the human before him into his very soul. A flickering, panicked.. gold. It was sacrilege. To dare share the same light that now fed into his oily veins, the testament of ever giving, pure love. It enraged the lich to a new height, and the air nearly trembled with the gravity of his wretched energies. Unable to take such a look, such murder in the glassy, bright eyes of the undead lord before him Jake whirled his head around to look at Sans. The skeleton remained unmoved, the man before him had lost all control of his expertly played mask. His cards had run short, and that realization was beginning to sink in.

Sweat dripped down Jake’s neck, his eyes wide, breath catching in his throat as he swallowed dryly.

 

***

 

Soft dew drops trickled down the side of the glass of water you had been brought, and you stared at the scene with a bored, flat expression.

At first, you sat quietly with the detective at the round table inside of the sushi bar. They decided to tuck your party into the far side, nestled deep within the building but yet at a safe distance from most of the traffic and bulk of customers. It was beautiful in here, warm accent lighting and soft music in the background. Even the soft trickles of a waterfall in the front entrance could be heard from over here, and it settled your nerves enough as you idly browsed the menu with Briggs at your side. You had only been here once before, and on the opposite side of the building. There was a light amount of people in here so far, but you were relatively early.

Setting the menu down you let out a soft sigh, to which Carl smirked at, flicking his gaze over to you as he let the paper menu slip his fingers to gently kiss the table, “the specials not catching your interest? I’m not a fan of eel myself.”

“Yeah, it’s just kind of.. swampy.” You murmur absentmindedly, plucking your small glass of ice water to your lips to sip at the cool surface, panning your attention over the floor.

“Don’t feel nervous about this,” he spoke calmly, leaning back in his chair as he reached for his vodka tonic. The lime left abandoned on the glossy tabletop. “They’ll all be here within half an hour, there was also a briefing for the new health facility so I’m sure that’s all there is. It will be nice to have a relaxing evening, usually whenever I am around your group someone is running around like a chicken without a head.”

A soft smirk graced your lips and you nodded, setting your glass down just as Briggs took a drink. The water did little to settle your nerves, you always hated when Gaster would go off on his own like that, and his last words still left you heated and a bit flustered. His energies within your soul were sharp, obviously irritated. Yet, your neck was itching.. excitement? That made no sense. You would drive yourself crazy trying to keep tabs on him, he was probably just still peeved from the meeting. It wasn’t unnatural for him to hold a grudge. You decided to put it out of your mind, and turned your attention to the detective who was admiring the décor.

“How is Dennis doing?” you asked, honestly curious.

“Ah, the boy seems to be getting along fine.. despite the circumstances. I have a feeling they weren’t that close to begin with, he told me that his elder brother was hardly ever around and seemed to be uninterested in having a relationship with his much younger brother. That happens in families sometimes, that age difference can make things hard for anyone in much different places in life.” He said, finishing his recap with a soft smile in your direction while he continued.

“Jenny has been keeping him company, and vice versa. Luckily the media hasn’t been paying us much attention with an election going on further south.”

You nodded, relieved. Things were finally coming to an end, life could move on.. though you were unsure exactly what that meant. You shook your head, refusing to think about it just as the waitress popped up to check in on the both of you. She seemed peppy, but also a bit nervous. The detective had enough forethought to let her in on who was all showing up, and ever since she seemed on edge. You doubted it was because of your _other_ monster friends. She asked you, once again, if water was all you wanted and at first you were simply just going to reassure her you were fine.. but instead decided against it and with a confident smile you asked, “maybe some purple haze? A large.”

When she nodded and walked away, the detective gave you a teasing look to which you couldn’t help but to giggle at. “What?” you pried, shooting him a similar look. Briggs just feigned ignorance, shrugging and turning his vision outward as the front doors opened and a white stoat in a sundress pressed forth, a yellow lizard at her side. You continued to stare at the detective until he chuckled and looked back towards you.

“Getting’ a large to share?”

“Pff,” you retorted, unable to help your laughter as your friends were pointed in the right direction and made their way over, unbeknownst to you, “maybe if I’m feeling generous.”

Claire cleared her throat, gathering your attention and you smiled all the wider, feeling your heart simmer down as the women joined you. They seemed curious as to where the obvious missing persons were, but didn’t bring it up in conversation. Claire left a spot open beside you, for the scientist, and lead the new conversation with some exciting news that one of the chefs working here was a relative. The stoat was nimble about gathering up the menus and tucked them at the end of the table, a pleasant smile on her face for she said what was to be served was off menu anyways and that you all surely would not be disappointed.

It would be a meal, to die for.

 

***

 

Jake found no mercy, no reaction what-so-ever from the skeleton at his back and resorted to frantically whipping his gaze in every direction, desperate for a way out. He continued to try to argue, to plead, “i-it wasn’t like that-!”

“you think you’re above consequences.. that your every action, and the damages you caused, can just be left behind you?” Jake reeled to the left, his shoes slipping against the cold cement to only have the skeleton blip into existence right in front of him, halting his attempt with a stern, empty gaze. “you had your chance at runnin’, buddy.”

Jake sneered, twisting to bolt in the other direction but the skeleton simply appeared right before him once again. His eerie ivory smile, turned manic. “ya see, the undead have very strict tradition-”

His heart was racing, dew drops slipping across his face as he came to his last ultimate resort. Without even planning accordingly, he flung his fist outward, straight for that taunting grin of the skeleton before him but his advance was easily knocked to the side. The sound of bone on bone was reverberating, it shook up his entire arm from the force Sans used to bat his own wrist against the man’s and without hesitation he himself then struck out with the opposite hand. Sans was so deft, that Jake hardly even had time to react before the skeleton’s fist lodged itself straight into his gut. The wind was stolen right out from the man’s lungs, and he reeled backwards to try to run once again.

Except, when he brought his gaze forward, he was met with the swift, agile movements of the lich who hardly touched the ground as he stepped into the fray. His black, heavy coat whipping behind his calves while his own, large hand came forth and plowed his jagged knuckles right into the side of Jake’s jaw. There was a crack, a gasp for breath as the man reeled off balance to only be caught by the skeleton who slipped straight in his path with a clever spin that sent a well calculated kick into the neglected portion of Jake’s face. The combination blows sent the man’s vision reeling, pain shocked his system and he buckled to the ground in a heap. He hardly felt the bitter kiss of concrete against his crashing body, and he laid there in a stupor, a groan leaving his lips as swelling infested his mandible. The sound of footsteps grinding sandy textures into the concrete just inches beside him wasn’t enough to bring his consciousness back.. yet.

It wasn’t until Sans began to speak once more, idly rolling his shoulders as the lich circled the beaten man with a look of boredom.

“-and that tradition, is that the living can’t ever escape what’s to come. we will always see you, in the end.”

The soft, faux fur pile of the skeleton’s blue jacket brushed along the edges of his jaw as he allowed his eyelids to droop, gazing onto the pathetic mess lying in front of them. He tilted his chin upwards, flicking his attentions to that of the monster before him, whose twitching fingers gave away the falsified composure of a scorned man. He knew why the lich didn’t call for this human’s soul, why he didn’t lay his hands on him further.. he wanted this to be dragged out, and while the skeleton understood his anger, he wouldn’t allow for the torture the lich would surely attempt at in mere minutes.

Neither of them noticed how Jake brought his hands inward, groping carefully for the piece of warm metal jabbing into his stomach just beside the growing bruise of his ribs. He held his eyes closed, panting and bearing through the terrible ache in his head and jaw. It wasn’t until his fingers curled around the grip of his pistol, just beneath his hoodie, that he dared open his eyes once more and stared outward at the slowly passing black shoes of the lich who oddly bore his weight on the balls of his feet. He feigned a heavy cough, wheezing truthfully on his inhales while he used his free hand to help him up. The monsters didn’t take his occupied hand as anything besides clutching his new bestowed injuries, and left him unmolested to slowly pull himself onto his feet.

The lich halted, partially turned towards the man as he swayed on his feet, hunched and painfully drew his reddened, swelling face upwards to look straight at the towering beast before him. Sans was forgotten at his back, as Jake gathered bloodied saliva in his mouth and spat unceremoniously onto the floor.  There was a harsh stinging in his cheek, he must have bitten himself from the blows but it was only one more ache added to the entire pain in his pounding head. Jake sneered, his teeth coated in a soft red stain as he breathed between his clenched jaw at the lich, his brows drawing together, “ _I killed you.”_

“And I am returning the favor,” the lich replied, his voice dark, gathered and spiced with arrogance. There was always that distant echoed filter to his voice, but as static sparked across his tongue Jake began to slowly pull the gun from his belt line, keeping it concealed beneath his hoodie as he swayed upon his feet. They had hit him harder than he thought, and his vision was swimming. He knew it was improbable to get out of this situation, alive and out of deep water.. but he refused to just submit, and give into such a maleficent demon. He wouldn’t die like Jared had.. He refused to die! A switch gave beneath his trembling fingertips, and he stared into the eyes of the lich who were distant, cold.

Gaster took a step forward, looming above the man before him who had to crane his head back, eyes wide, as the gaze of the lich kept him entranced. The monster seemed to speak from deep within his chest, as it growled through his throat in a nearly hoarse composition teeming with vibrotic fluctuations. The demon’s breath was acrid, decaying and caused the man to flinch as he was forced to listen to the lich whom was only a breast width away, “mmnn, how you tremble, human.. Interesting, that you had escaping in mind. Though this game of cat and mouse has grown tiresome, I must admit.”

Jake gripped all the tighter to the pistol in his hand, his vision slowly coming into clarity and only enhanced the shakiness of his legs as the lich’s withered sockets and flashes of fangs behind his tense lips were all that he could focus on. There was no cloudy haze upon this monster, like there had been with the slight violet hue beneath his eyes on that occasion. This creatures intent was clear as day, and Jake refused to face it.. for things to end with this being his last memory. The face of a horrid, decrepit creature with a broad chest and scathing breath. His hand shook, the metal of the gun nuzzling his belly while the lich went on.

“I apologize for our reunion being so.. delayed,” he breathed, his lips twitching into that of a disturbingly intimate grin, his gums black as the blood that had poured onto the dusty floors of the warehouse, “my, how you quiver before me.. anxious, little louse.. ? Not to worry, many intimately tremble beneath my hands.”

With this, he stretched outward. His lanky, knuckled fingers slipping through the air to hover right along the edges of Jake’s ripening features, his claws craving that of giving flesh. Though, just before he could touch the human shivering in his grasp there was a loud, deafening BANG. The chinking of a brass casing hitting the floor, bouncing to a roll at the feet of the two, was the only sound to be had as the lich halted. Ever so slowly, he straightened himself and glanced downward, his out stretched hand slowly falling to his abdomen where an inky black hole was gushing putrid, obsidian blood. Soft spindles of steam boiled from the wound, intricately weaving around his fingers.

Jake took a few steps back, quickly shaking the pistol out from under his hoodie to hold it directly pointed at the lich’s chest, in both hands. He bore his own teeth, sweat dripping down the back of his neck while he kept his target in his sights. This was not the first bullet he had put into the lich, and he was prepared to deliver more into the horror before him. The man’s heart was fluttering, adrenaline coursing through his veins, but any semblance of victory was dashed as the monster looked back up into the eyes of the human before him. He was grinning; Jakes heart sunk.

Gaster could see Sans just behind Jake, his sockets black, and sweat beading down his features beneath that drawn hood edged in fur.. but the lich merely gave a quick puff of air, that devolved into a deep, hearty chuckle. He allowed his hand to fall at his side, the tips of his fingers licked with blood. The scientist then gripped the edge of his grey turtleneck, just beneath his belt line and hoisted the fabric upwards. Jake swallowed dryly, his eyes moist with fear and frustration as he witnessed the horrendously scarred body of the monster before him and that small little hole he had made. At first, he saw nothing but trickling blood, but he then noticed how it was.. _moving._

In no time at all, an oil slicked chunk of metal was pushed from the lich’s abdomen, left to bounce off of the concrete floor along with strings of black blood that refused to let go of anything it touched. Gaster carelessly let the fabric fall from his fingers, catching on his sharp hip bones and smeared blood further across his skin. His laughter came to an eerie stop, as he inhaled and then breathed, evidently aroused, “mnn, _interesting_.”

There was no time for Sans to react, nor Jake, for the lich then surged forward with a wicked smile and violent hands. He thrust his fists forward, throwing his weight into the small creature before him. Fingers splayed, eyes wide with excitement, his right hand clutched around Jake’s throat while the other was deft enough to slap the man’s wrist to the side as the gun let loose another few stray bullets. The reverberating bangs echoed in the lot, a crescendo to the strained, gasping struggling to pass against the lich’s fingers. In one fell swoop, the lich arched his back and hoisted the man clear into the air, holding him up against the harsh white lights blinking above them. This did not prevent the man from trying to fling his firearm forward, his finger squeezing the trigger- but the lich was by far faster. His free hand gripped painfully into the tendons of the man’s wrist, banking the limb to the side so the fifth bullet merely imbedded itself into the concrete.

Black moths continued to skitter against the plastic casing above, swarming in a harsh tumbling a few inches from the crown of Jake’s head. Amidst this chaos, black shapes churning and twisting in and out of his peripheral vision, Jake managed to keep his eyes downward onto the lich who seemed more than pleased with his catch. The pin point pupils hosted inside of the creature’s milky iris’ were a manic staple to his mood, the flash of his fangs contoured by black gums held the man’s attention as he wheezed and clawed desperately through the hole in the middle of the beast’s hand. The skin beneath his fingertips was smooth, incredibly warm, and dense. Jake’s consistent, crazed scratching and pulling left small, light grey trails, barely denting the surface. Still, the man refused to release the handgun, even with intense pain spiking up through his inner arm from the claw imbedding itself into his wrist.

The lich merely watched as the man’s endurance slowly caved in, his wet, hoarse gagging and pathetic kicks of his struggle went hand in hand with the way a few black moths flittered onto his loose clothing. Most of them clung well, while others were kicked or brushed off from the consistent thrashing, but they merely settled elsewhere. A rather large creature, carrying a torn wing, crawled delicately over its master’s knuckles, a wing brushing up along the man’s cheek turning a violet hue. Jake coughed once, twice, wheezing in air before the lich tightened his hold and the man was left in silence, his mouth agape and empty as consciousness was slowly bled from him. With this, his fingers fell numb and the pistol clattered to the ground, one bullet left in the chamber.

The lich savored the feelings beneath his crooked fingers, the points of his claws digging mercilessly into the flesh of the squirming being in his grasp. His brows drew together slowly, dipping his chin downward as his long, flat tongue swept over the harsh, jagged edges of his grey teeth. Drool was pooling in his mouth, pure hatred seething from his eyes cased in deep, aged lines. The muscles in his arm wound tighter, resisting the urge to press _too_ hard. The monster was well aware of his strength, but couldn’t seem to help the rabid, sadistic hunger that grew tenfold within his very soul. Not even the sparks of soft, golden light could dissuade him from this path now. But there was one, a skeleton with a rock forming in his figurative guts at just how cruel the lich could be.. and he knew this would just be the beginning.

“doc..” he started, his smile turned to a bothersome frown, “we got someplace to be.”

Jake was fading, his eyes having rolled back into his skull, the struggle he had kept up had faltered and he soon hung limp. The lich’s brows twitched, suppressing the light growl having worked its way up through his throat and suddenly, he released the man’s neck. The man dropped like a ton of bricks, his legs collapsing beneath him against the concrete but his torso was saved the blow from his awkwardly raised right arm, still held possessively in the lich’s grasp. Rivulets of red slipped from the puncture marks of the lich’s claws, coating the undersides of his fingers to slip down the man’s arm as he convulsed and gasped for precious life. The man nearly retched, his ribs heaving with effort to drink in air through the gravel in his windpipe.

“There is no rush,” the lich spoke, calm and thoughtful as he carefully shifted his grasp on Jake’s wrist, lowering his body to the floor so he laid on his chest. He took a few solid steps, positioning himself just so to then kneel, grinding his bony knee into the man’s spine as he leered over the top of him. His weight was dominating, yet he remained well aware of his bounds and left most of the burden on his opposing leg, tucked in an awkward crouch that didn’t seem to bother the monster. As air came back to the man beneath him, Jake began to squirm once more, coughing and scrambling against the ground while the lich simply peered at his own, black blooded fingers.

“L-let go- of me!” Jake wheezed, no match for the being leaning further above him.

A soft exhale spread a wicked grin across the lich’s features as his lips almost pressed into the man’s temple. This human stunk, his hair greasy and a mess, it tickled the monster’s palette as his knuckled, jagged fingers pressed into the concrete just beside the man’s face. Jake stared at this limb, wide eyed, noticing the red splotches and smears of blood just beneath his fingertips; his own blood. He sharply inhaled, terror lacing his features as he gasped and heaved for air, the pressure digging into his back leaving him little room to expand his lungs.  

“Ah, but you’ve managed to wound me. Something your cohorts couldn’t do.. Surely you wish to marinate on the _flavors_ of your victory.”

The man went to speak, but then two fingers then shoved into his mouth. His eyes went wide, attempting to jerk his head away but merely bumped his skull against the unmoving cheek of the lich who watched him curiously. Jake sputtered, giving a cry as thick, pungent oil was caked across his wriggling tongue. Eerily, the monster hovered closer, tilting his facial features inward as he softly, intimately, shushed him. The lich pressed his two digits farther inside, his claws scraping the back of the man’s throat as he smeared his blood along Jake’s tongue, and even his molars. The man desperately tried biting down, but to no avail; it was like gnawing stone. He didn’t realize what was happening, the substance in his mouth was acrid, acidic and it bit into his soft tissues with a gentle hissing.

This was when Jake thrashed all the harder, a squirming, pinned maggot beneath the undead master above him. It kept the idle grin on the lich’s face as he toyed with the man, his joints beginning to lock and disfigure within his mouth. The audible creaking and cracking of bone startled him, but the slicing of his tongue and gums from those probing claws caused him to cry out again. Muffled by the lich’s hand, Gaster began to chuckle. A deep, throaty sound that was nearly pleasurable, sexual. The black, sludge like blood of the monster began to seep into the cuts within Jake’s mouth, the searing pain only escalating. The wet, jumbled cries of the man devolved into something purely instinctual, his screams were stripped of any sort of censorship as his veins were burdened with the task of carrying the toxicity into his jaw, spreading outward across his face and neck.

Sans’ sockets twitched, his teeth beginning to divot as drops of sweat slipped down his skull to run races down his grooved spine and ribcage. There were many things that he had seen in the past few weeks, having been forced to follow the lich around and keep tabs on him. But now, he was seeing the unedited scenes unfold themselves. No aftermath of the crime scene, no blood stains and body bags, just cruel intention and malice wrapped into one. It was.. unnatural, to be this hateful. He couldn’t help but to cringe, wincing and slightly turning away, viewing the scene from the corners of his eyes in the shadow of his drawn hood. He witnessed the lich finally take his fingers from Jake’s mouth, the man sputtering and nearly retching onto the floor. Oddly enough, the lich grasped onto the man’s right arm as he lifted himself up off the ground, raising the limb with him.

Though, instead of helping the man to his feet, he pressed the heel of his black shoe high into Jake’s back right between his shoulder blades. The expression on the lich’s face.. there were no words to describe it. He remained slightly hunched, his lips drawn so far back into pointed lines high within his cheeks that his obsidian gums were clearly visible. Euphoria, wild and insane. He gripped into Jake’s arm with a wretched cruelty, deep violet hues budding just beneath his fingertips as he hoisted the limb awkwardly; twisting it up behind Jake’s back.

The skeleton balled his hands into fists, placing them within his jacket pockets and attempted once more to sway the scientist from using such brutality, “not like you to be late to an occasion. besides, it’s better to quickly finish business-”

“Ah, but Sans.. you forget,” the lich murmured, a sickly grin tugging at his lips as he pulled Jake’s raised arm backward. Earning an agonizing groan from the man, the sound riding harshly on his rapid, terrified breathing. He didn’t have the ability to speak, his mouth continuing to hang open as his pained noises sung to a deeper, sharp outcry to only end in further gasping. Gaster was pushing the limit of this man, he could see how his soul quivered and blinked, fading and yet resisting. It was all so, interesting.

“It’s all about the foreplay,“ he continued, pulling a tad further. Leaning back into his posture to strain the muscle of the arm in his grasp, grinding the socket in an awkward, agonizing position that finally began to summon words from Jake’s lips. He begged, incoherently; and the lich’s grin slid into a pointed, gum bearing smile as a chuckle wove through his words. “It is much more satisfying.. the build.. the intimacy, the intensity..” his tongue flicked out across his lips, wetting them as he kept his focus down on the man beneath his foot, beginning to writhe once more as Jake barked.

_“S-STOP-!”_

The word hit Sans rather hard, and his expression clearly showed it. The skeleton shuffled a bit closer, his eyes trailing down onto the moth covered man, their wings idly flittering here and there. It was an ill omen, like vultures waiting for a heartbeat to cease. Sans ground his jaws together slowly, he was no stranger to this.. but he never took enjoyment in the task. He always fought with his first move meaning to be the last, he never knew why others would wait to use their most powerful move.. and now he knew why. The tender coldness in the scene before him painted a too realistic, too true picture of ultimate sociopathic satisfaction.

The skeleton was snapped out of his thoughts by a literal, sickening CRACK. It jostled him to the core as the man wailed on the floor, his arm falling uselessly from the lich’s gasp to lay limp and idle at his side; twisted and wrong. Sans’ eye grew wide, frozen in place as his white eyes trembled within his sockets, glued onto the stance of the lich who then leaned forward to place his weight on the man’s spine now. Jake was fumbling his words, a sea of tears and drool seeping from his features as he was reduced to incoherent weeping and pleading. No further façade remained. The mask had been removed, and here lied the true form of a coward. Forced to grovel at the feet of a wrathful deity.

 “Apologies, but it seems I cannot hear you!” the lich bellowed, a laugh edging his tone while he slipped his hands within his coat pockets, hunching further forward to press all the deeper into the man beneath him. Jake’s rapid outcries were stifled, choked from him once again as the pressure began to become great, his ribs compressed. He was left wide eyed, gaping outward across the floor to stare at the shiny blur which was his hand gun, barrel pointed across the lot. Unfortunately, it was on his damaged side, and tears of frustration joined those of ultimate terror. There was too much happening, too much going on, that the poison infesting his body began to turn his veins a visible purple; his flesh turning cold and grey as the infection spread at a rapid rate.

“this is goin’ too far-“ the skeleton tried, his words cutting off sharply as his joints instantly locked. His body refusing to obey him. The lich’s gaze flicking straight to him, through him.

“Is it? Hmnn,” the lich responded absentmindedly, tilting his head in an odd angle as static popped across his fangs, “I find that interesting, Sans. It seems as if you easily forget what has been happening the past few months, perhaps from your own earthly jealousy and distractions. I will serve the punishment, I will be her.. Justice.”

The scientist nearly moaned with the word, succulent on his lips and flavorful against his tongue. His weight pressed all the harder into the back of the man beneath him, grinding him into the concrete as he wheezed and writhed helplessly against the floor. Sans had no choice, he was frozen, a dark hold taking over every bone in his body urging him to watch.

“Just…” Jake coughed, gagging on the sore, bruising in his throat, “just.. kill me..”

This drew the lich’s attention, his focus turning back to the human under foot. The man shifted and bore through the pain to bring his uninjured arm up beneath his chest, an attempt to push upward off of the ground. Surprisingly, Gaster allowed this, yet he kept his foot planted flatly on Jake’s back, making him work to gain any ground. The man bowed his head, coughing and managing to slip his elbow just beneath his chest, propping himself up from the concrete to gasp and pant. He gathered himself for a few moments before wincing, shoving the words out between his bloodied teeth, “g-get it over with already..”

“You feel deserving of mercy, human?” the lich asked dryly, his expression falling back into it’s neutral, unreadable slate. The edge he held against the skeleton slowly waned, and Sans’ began to move his fingers within the pockets of his jacket as control began to come back to him.

Jake forced a laugh, it jerked his entire body and made him groan from the sharp, nerve shocking pain of his dislocated shoulder. He took a while to recover from it, feeling nauseated and trapped. The man swept his tongue around in his bloodied, dripping mouth to spit it clear onto the ground beneath him. Black, oily strands clung to his throat, his lips and no matter how he sputtered and spat he was unable to break the sick tethers of the discarded slip on the concrete, and his teeth. Strings of translucent red clung to his lips as well, intertwining with the malevolent ick as he ground out angrily, “i-if I get out.. of here..” he gasped, “I’ll s-still never be sorry..”

The lich’s lips pulled into a taunt, fine line, his brows furrowing in a cold stare as Jake continued to wheeze, “y-you won’t _‘teach’_ me an-anything.. th-there’s no p-point in t-torturing me, you sick perverted _fuck_.”

Jake began to chuckle, wincing through the agony the motion brought him as he closed his eyes and fell into a coughing fit. Thick strands of spit and blood bubbled from his throat, to which he quickly spat onto the floor just inches from his features. Yet all that struggle only bounced and wavered the obsidian webbing clinging to his features. He strained to continue, “e-even though it wasn’t.. w-wasn’t in the plan for th-that… _bitch_ , to get hurt. Sh-she deserved it.. for being a d-dirty, _monster fucker.”_

As he spoke he could taste the dirt on the concrete, and it was a reprieve from the scent of his own blood filling his sinuses. Then, he felt the pressure on his back give. Not even a shove was given, not a word uttered. Jake braced himself, cringing and taking this moment to gulp down air and clear his airway by hacking onto the floor. The horrid bite he had given his own cheek continued to seep and spill blood onto his tongue, the coppery taste was disgusting as was the pain forcing his body into shock. The aftertaste of chemicals was staining his palette, an odd tightening of his skin wove downward to his collarbones as color was drained from his once plump flesh. The greedy, evil bitterness pushing through his veins was parasitic, and it devoured warmth as his heart pushed the solution further through his own body.

The lich took a few idle steps away, the sound of his heels against the cold stone floor echoed through the lot.  He was thinking, able to sense his magic forcing it’s way deeper through his victim. He was curious to see what would happen, death was imminent either way. But the distant, far off ringing of a siren above them was the call of their time growing shorter by the minute. Sans could hear it too, but that wasn’t the reason for his uneasiness. He was staring at the man shuffling against the floor, too weak to get up on his own, purple veins crosshatched his facial features and his darkening skin already made him appear to be dead. The only sound permeating the stillness was Jake’s gentle wheezing, the air whistling through his damaged throat. A ballad of tension was welling in the atmosphere.

Sans released a soft sigh, sulking in his hoodie as he casually stepped forward. The calm stillness took Jake off guard, for as he began to raise his head in curiosity there was a sudden shuffling of feet, then a hard, merciless kick straight into the side of his ribs. The man gave a short cry as he was tossed easily, skidding and rolling onto his side. The concrete snagged and tore at his clothing, his useless arm resting just beneath him. Jake could only see the world wobbling around him, dazed and in agony he rolled himself onto his back, gasping and sputtering while a deep ache buried itself within his gut. It hurt to breathe, to remain conscious. He hardly even noticed the footsteps following after him, an odd, tangible tremor pulsating through the air. It was suffocating. The moths were becoming agitated and he felt pin pricks digging into his form, the unnatural creatures had managed to bite through the fabric, pinching his flesh. He couldn’t fight them. Instead, he closed his eyes, his teeth bared in a clear sign of agony while his free hand clutched at the limp arm across his chest. Jake could barely comprehend the voices around him, muttering to one another as he struggled to breathe, to even think.

“c’mon doc, he doesn’t deserve any more of our time.. plus, it seems those gunshots brought company.”

“Indeed,” the lich growled, his chest reverberating with his growing irritation.

Sans kept his gaze on Jake, itching to reach for his magic.. but he knew he would be stopped before delivering a final blow, just like earlier. Whatever the lich was doing to this man, internally, was destroying him anyhow. The skeleton had never seen abilities like these, and he didn’t want to even believe dark talents like this existed, it was a lot to process and left him submissive to the situation as the scientist took it all in stride. Gaster stepped to the human on the floor, his shadow falling across his passive form while he gasped and tried to suppress his chest racking sobs. The lich’s gaze narrowed, flicking his pin point pupils across the man’s form. It was a shame how fragile humanity was, they were so easily destroyed, so easily broken. It left little for creativity, but this.. yes, this would do.

“On your feet,” the lich commanded. The small moths having worked themselves beneath the man’s hoodie skittered wildly across the man’s skin, nipping and startling his nerves enough to keep him conscious. Jake whimpered, his eyelids flicking open to stare upwards at the black figure above him slowly coming into focus. He squinted and shuddered through the tears, but remained overall motionless; clutching his dislocated arm while color drained from his hands now, as well.

“doc-“

“If you insist on being of any use, Sans,” the scientist growled, his energies tremoring against the hard surfaces surrounding them, “keep still, and compliant.”

The skeleton sighed, his shoulders slacking further beneath the coat he wore. He had no choice but to remain where he was, he always hated when the lich took control of his body and didn’t particularly feel like experiencing it again. The moth resting within his ribcage was enough hindrance as it was already. Though, it didn’t keep him from speaking and it visually made the lich twitch, “doesn’t sound useful to just stand here till we get arrested.”

Gaster flicked his gaze to the corner of his sockets, plucking his hands from his pockets as he replied coldly, “if you insist.. then why don’t you assist the welp to stand on its feet, it is rather pathetic to watch this human squirm.”

The lich tucked the toe of his shoe into the man’s side, painfully jabbing him with a quick strike that caused Jake to groan, his fingers tightening around his arm as he roused himself enough to sit. He coughed, hunched over his lap as further strands of blood seeped from his mouth. There were moths flittering all beneath his hoodie, some even ventured up to scramble against his neck and arms, but his skin felt numb there. His entire face felt numb, the pain having ventured to the lower half of his body. His guts were in a bind, his legs felt cold as did his fingers. There were sirens, now. Jake could hear them, and he coughed as a soft laugh took hold of his chest.

Sans then replied with a shrug, “you’re tellin’ me to stay out of it, so’s i will.”

The scientist’s frustration was growing, the sirens had come to a halt now just outside of the lot but it would still be awhile before anyone could make it three levels below deck on foot. The gates to the structure closed at midnight, and it was well past then. No vehicle was allowed in, and if these officers were anything like the individuals he had the pleasure of dealing with during the investigations they were in no immediate danger of discovery. The skeleton’s interruptions did disturb his focus, however, and the pause in which they allotted allowed Jake to murmur, “l-looks like w-we’re all goin’ to jail.”

This drew the lich’s attention and he reached down, grabbing the back of the man’s neck to pull him up off of the floor. Jake grunted, turning his features away from the monster as he was lifted onto his shaking legs. Gaster kept his hold tight, controlling and yet, patient. He waited calmly for the man in his grasp to gather his bearings before moving his hand upwards, his long, knuckled fingers combing through Jake’s hair at the back of his head before gripping tightly against his skull. The man winced, growling with his mouth agape as the monster forced his head backwards, closing the distance between them with a soft step forward. The lich peered down into the pained expression of the man nearly held against his breast and commanded, a hearty growl working into his words, “look at me.”

Jake obeyed, flicking his amber eyes forward, and up, into the eyes of the undead monster who leered too close for comfort. He could taste his breath, laden with liquor and decay. The lich studied the face of the human gaping at him, his skin was growing taunt and grey, the small veins and capillaries crossing his flesh has risen into a violet hue. The effect of his blood, was a poison. There was no suiting way to smother the dimming yellow soul twinkling within the man’s ribcage besides slowly, painfully. He took a moment here, the sound of sirens continued to permeate the stillness until the lich then spoke, “your kin have been punished, by death.. or by time. I would find it most.. interesting, to see which one you choose.”

Sans steadily blinked at the scene before him, his brows slowly crimping together in a subtle confusion. No, there was no way that the scientist would just simply let this man go. Not after his odd way of torture, not after the long man hunt of week prior, and certainly not after the act of scripting some incoherent riddle on the wall of their Sun’s apartment wall. It was obvious that Jake would choose his own skin over what was right. And while the skeleton felt that torture was too far, this man did not deserve mercy. Simply roughing this character up was going to be of no real use, you couldn’t teach a coward selflessness. No matter how you beat them to conform to it.

These words seemed to confuse Jake, whose pained sneer began to melt beneath the surface. The lich intimately lowered his lips further, his voice carrying upon a dark murmur, “though, you better hurry. I fear your options are rather limited, as is your time.”

Suddenly, the lich released his grasp on the man and he stumbled backwards, his arm hanging uselessly at his side. His entire body was aching, and it took him a few moments to steady himself long enough to flick his gaze between the skeleton off in the background, and back to the scientist. They both stared at him, though the lich wore an eerie, subtle smile and Sans’ brow was heavily furrowed. Jake began to back pedal, still clutching onto his damaged arm as he tilted his torso away from the pair. He spoke shakily, fear and disbelief threading into his voice, “w-what are you saying?”

Gaster couldn’t help but to smirk, his eyelids drooping as he extended a hand outward, motioning towards the rest of the empty garage radiating with the distant echo of a police siren. The bullet wound he had sustained had stopped weeping, yet the grey turtleneck continued to glisten in the oily slick having soaked into its plush fabric. “You are already dead, concerning either of us anyways.. Go on, little moth, flee. Run away, attempt to escape fate.”

Jake’s eyes widened, so engulfed in the lich’s words that he did not notice how dry his mouth became, his flesh fading into a sickly grey tone far beneath the surface of his skin. This is when they all heard the loud radio chatter of the nearing officers, their words were muffled but their approach was imminent. Discovery of the scene was near tangible, but instead of refusing the lich’s game; Jake ran. He tripped over his numbing feet as he spun around and bolted across the concrete. He could feel the monsters staring after him, but he simply gritted his teeth and willed his body to move faster- as fast as he could manage. Against the bruising, the dimming welts having sprung into his ribs and back, he pushed the pain far from his forethought as the air whipped his face. He dug hard, his heels gouging into the floor as he hurled himself towards the corner of the lot, not daring to glance backwards as he reached out with his hand, grabbed onto the railing of the stairwell, and rushed upwards to the surface.

Only the undead beings left behind noticed the trickles of dust fading from his skin as he ran, left to glitter and churn in the air in his wake. The officers must have heard his escape, for they could hear them now barking orders from straight above them. A new chase had started, one that kept the grin firmly planted on the lich’s lips. Even as Sans shifted, peering out from beneath his hood up into the scientist’s amused expression. “what’s happenin’ to him?”

“An early onset of decay. Which is a rather interesting reaction to toxifying the bloodstream, it certainly is a race now.. Who will win, I wonder..?” he mused, he could feel the skeleton’s apprehensive stare and continued with a soft exhale, satisfied; as if cool water had flooded his veins, “will he be apprehended, given Justice..? Or, will death be the final result. It’s rather interesting, isn’t it?”

“..sure, doc.” He sighed, unnerved. “let’s uhh.. let’s get ya a new set of clothes, ya know.. ones without blood on ‘em.”

The lich huffed, rather salted by Sans’ lack of enthusiasm for their accomplished endeavor. He ignored the raucous sounds above, it seemed as if the human was getting away from the police, but the suffocated energy beneath his moths was dwindling, rapidly. He glanced downward, pinching his turtleneck to pull the fabric from his stomach, soft wet crackling noises emanated from the wound and he released a soft breath.

“Indeed.. come, Sans.” He turned towards the skeleton, placing a hand on his shoulder to grip into the fabric of his coat firmly. “Seems as if there is one more loose end to knot.”

“so far, you’re doing really well on the whole ‘interacting with humans’ thing.”

The scientist released a light sigh, his good mood only being muddled by the dry sarcasm of the skeleton. Without another word, not wanting to encourage the behavior, he folded them through the void. Not a sound was made, but the lights did slightly flicker beneath the weight of the disturbance three stories beneath the Earth.

 

***

 

Jake could hardly breathe as he fled, there was no such thing as pain to him now, only the disjointed, blurring shapes churning around him while he willed himself to keep running. The shouts and clamor of the police behind him were just an odd, muffled sound far off behind him, somewhere. His skin had grown taunt across his bones, the muscles in his body were failing, withering- shrinking. He could feel the pressure of his dislocated arm, the socket was now dull, but his useless limb was held tight to his chest with his free hand. A coldness was creeping in, but he refused it. The wind in his lungs wheezed, soft whispers that blew past his cracking lips, having lost their pink luster to a dim, dusty hue. His consciousness was fleeting, hardly being able to process where he was going in the dark. He had half a mind to recall the location, somewhere along the highway, neighboring the rusted warehouses. A fitting place, he would have thought, if there was more than simple static, and the hum of delicate wings swarming his insides.

He took twists, and he took turns. Gasping for air, eyes bulging and fading from amber to a sullen, soiled gold. Then, his feet caught upon themselves and he fell to the ground, hitting the broken gravel of what used to be asphalt. This change in pace startled him, and he laid here for awhile, his broken skin from the impact was dry.. only the tiniest shimmers of decay managed to leak from his veins. Carefully, he rolled onto his back, once more, and stared into the navy abyss above him. There was silence, submerged beneath whatever force was overtaking him. Lost in the churning tides of confusion, and oppression, his dimming, glossing eyes gaped at the stars he was unable to recall. There was something, something plentiful, writhing beneath his skin. The sensation made him cry out, but there was no voice, no utterance of terror or disillusion of a hallucinating man. A dark force had sunk itself within the core of his body, now.

A flickering of light attempted to thwart the advance of this evil having poisoned his veins, but what Justice was there to have..? To call upon for help..? There was none, his friends had gone and he was alone. He had not realized he was writhing, the gravel beneath him chewing up the large hoodie to dig grooves of torn flesh against his spine. A sudden, heavy pang rang through his ribcage, singing across his bones clear into his fingers and toes. It left him shaken, squirming all the more as if to rid himself of the shell of his body. Like a butterfly, wriggling from its husk. The waves of this foreign aura overtook him quickly, and it stirred the sensations of numerous, little pin point legs crawling around within him. They were everywhere, skittering over his organs and buzzing behind his eyes, deep within the sockets. Minions to a greater being, a God. This continued for what felt like hours, days, even.. Until another strike rang true through his very soul, rendering his struggles useless as he then lay still, and silent against the ground.

Eyes wide, and mouth parted just as, this dense blanket of aftershock settled in throughout his form. The vision of the blurred sky began to shift and change. A disarray of black feathers, wings, scattered reality before him. Sunk within the pit of finality, only fear remained. The softest of whispers, a wheeze, whistled through his throat in dutiful effort to remain alive as his aged complexion grew all the more wrinkled, and splotched. His blood had turned to slush, coagulating in lumps that finally had reached his heart. Another painful throb tore through his left side, emanating from his breast. Water, crystalline, etched down across his cheeks, bordering his silent, gum baring scream that only delivered the most pathetic of rushing air. Choked, burdened, and dying.. the human soul relented. Until, finally, the crescendo met the apex, and with one more, valiant beat his heart then fell into stillness. Yet, something inside of it continued to move, to writhe and squirm. It was not painful, it was foreign, and hated.

As this little feeling fermented into a soldiering worm, now traversing upward, a knot in his gullet.. Jake’s vision gave, and his jaws slowly came together, still parted by surprise and natural muscle placement. There were a few more, gasping, weak attempts at drawing in air but those soon fell to the wayside as well. Then, nothingness. A collapse ensued within his breast, the golden energies within him had split, and faded to dust. An emptiness now remained, except for that small, true creeping within the man’s esophagus. It remained sheltered within him, for a time, before pattering upwards, lingering at the back of his tongue with an idle nervousness. Something drew its attention, however. Blinking red and blue lights, casting their friendly signals just beyond the moist cavern it had fed upon.

Curiously, it skittered forward. Its tiny feet dancing upon the shriveled meat beneath it before crawling into the navy limelight. It’s body, of a moth, was rather large, and its wings caught of the edges of the white stones above it as it traveled outside, resting on the grey ground as contrasting lights cast their ballad across the creature’s form. There, is when a crack in its dark wing was illuminated. Coated in light, shimmery dust, the bug tested its strength. Fluttering its wings rapidly, barely feeling weightlessness before stopping. Then, voices, noises, a rush of footsteps against the roughed ground coming straight towards it.

Oliver did not pause, and without having to be urged further, a surge in power filled his beady form and his wings took him into the sky. A small detail, he was. An important one. But it was truly lost on the two officers staring down at the old man in a hoodie, a mummy wrapped in street clothes lying dormant against the ground. There was radio chatter, saddened sighs and murmurs to each other, but they were long left behind by the night butterfly as he soared ever higher above the city. His new strength, his new will, had been filled. Now, there was another call for him to answer. A glimmering yellow light amidst the sea of colors strobing along the cities landscape. His home, his security. He wished to share in its company once more, and so the moth blissfully tumbled above the busy streets, none the wiser to its rebirth than he was himself.

It took but a few minutes, in his mind, to flitter through the open doors of a passing couple, inside the cool building smelling of fresh water and chilled delights. A brief travel, barely dodging through the rafters illuminated by warm lanterns to finally spiral downward, hovering above the delicate, warm hand it was naturally fond of. Belly full, antennae wavering, Oliver set himself down on the crook of her hand, slowly fanning his worked wings in the subtle chill of the air. Then.. she smiled at him. And he felt pride, for his Lord and his beauty who held him so tenderly.

A soft, gentle petting of her free finger against the eerie crack in his wing caused him to flitter lightly, but her voice, not directed particularly at him, settled the brimming energy inside. He would wait, with her. For her skin was so familiar, and warm. Her touches sincere, honest. Worthy of protection. Oliver settled in here, his wings occasionally fanning as talk continued around him. But it was her voice that truly kept his attention, and kept him calm.

His Master was not far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jake got his fitting ending. 
> 
> Death isn't always going out with a bang, it's brutally blunt. And I feel that was the best way for this character to end, and G agrees with me on that. Haha! 
> 
> I have one last chapter planned, to tie everything up, to wind everything down. Bring some humor, some good interactions, and leave this story on a strong note. I never would have dreamed of writing a story as long as this, LWAL could fit into two or three books at it's current length which is astounding! Story writing is something I plan on doing for the rest of my life, and it's thanks to you guys for being here with me through this journey. Through the awkward stages and the beginning of something I hope to sharpen into a professional skill. 
> 
> Thank you. Again. It's been surreal. <33  
> Not sure when I can announce the next update, as I'm going to have another medication shift on Friday- but hopefully it's the last one I go through for some time.


End file.
